


To be Careful in Missions

by MiyuTanemura



Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: AU, M/M, Slow Burn, team fic, the slowest burn ever
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-01-01
Updated: 2016-09-17
Packaged: 2017-11-25 18:15:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 37
Words: 109,756
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/641649
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MiyuTanemura/pseuds/MiyuTanemura
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>During a mission Gray is hurt by rare creatures, Natsu's there to help him. But together they’ll have to work to surpass the troubles that ensue. And the number of surprises that appear in later missions.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Beginning

**Author's Note:**

> This is going to be the general disclaimer to the whole fic: I do not own Fairy Tail or it's characters and no profit is being made from this story.

_I was running, my breathing was coming fast and my blood was thumping on my ears. Maybe I wasn’t too late. But as I was approaching the end of the tunnel everything started to tremble. When I finally entered the cave I recoiled, backing up a step. Deliora’s roar was filling the cave, pieces of the ceiling falling and some stones crumbling while others fell into the inside lake._

_I had to get closer but my body was paralyzed. It was waking up, my nightmare. Another thought hit me. Ur. I forced myself to go further inside the cave, to the lake. I even entered the water. Taking some of it in my hands I looked at it sadly. My master, where are you now?_

_I was brought back from my musings by a voice, shouting at me. “Gray, you’re there?”_

_So Natsu was here already. He was saying that we had to crush the monster. Suddenly a voice cut into our conversation, “He he. You have no chance. I’ll deal with him… to surpass Ur… I have…” Leon. He wasn’t very coherent as he dragged himself up._

_“You’re the one that has no chance. Leave.” Natsu answered._

_Deliora’s roars grew in intensity as I watched a completely out of his mind Leon looking dazedly at him. “Finally we meet… Deliora!” He continued his tirade until he was standing up._

_“Now… I’m going to… surpass you…” I didn’t let him finish his sentence. Hitting him in the back, I saw as he lost consciousness and flopped to the floor once again. I could feel Natsu’s surprised gaze on me. I returned to the lake. ”That’s enough Leon. Let me take care of this.” I got into that dreaded pose, “Iced Shell!”_

_In the background I could hear Leon’s voice but nothing registered. My only thoughts were that this was our last choice, nothing else could defeat him, the consequences didn’t matter now. The freezing breezes were surrounding me, starting to come across my arms and torso like huge nails across my flesh, I felt how they were ripping my pants. But suddenly Natsu was on my way. “Natsu. Get away from there!” I ordered. He answered me something but I couldn’t overhear him due to the sharpness of the wind that was making the air around me colder with every breath. Now it felt as if the nails were starting to pierce through my skin, deeper and deeper. Scorching pieces from me. Natsu looked at me, his eyes full of disappointment and sadness. When he spoke I could hear him clearly, it was as if the spell around me had stopped and only he and I existed, “I tried to stop you because I don’t want you to die. But apparently you didn’t hear me.”_

_I looked at him, baffled. But he kept talking, “Go ahead, you can use that spell, if that’s what you want.” He turned his back to me and approached the monster. I was still in such a state of shock that I called him without noticing. Around me the winds were decreasing in intensity due to my lack of focus._

_In that precise moment Deliora raised his arm. He was going to attack and I had broken the spell that was our only salvation. I heard myself shouting at Natsu to get away, to run but he, stubborn as usual, was approaching the monster head on, flames growing on his fist._

_Time seemed to slow down as Deliora’s arm was over its head. A crack appeared on the hand, growing and running through the whole arm, then down the rest of the monster’s body. That immense figure was collapsing and crumbling before our very eyes._

_I was beyond shocked. Despite what my eyes saw, my brain couldn’t comprehend what was happening. That the monster was disappearing in front of us. Behind me Leon was saying something in an anguished voice._

_When there was only a pile of crumble I absentmindedly felt my hands tremble. I wouldn’t be admired if my whole body was trembling but I only felt my hands move without my willing as I continued to look._

_Leon kept sobbing and lamenting. Natsu turned around and with a large grin on his face turned to me, complimenting my master, “Your master was extremely strong!” I could sense his gaze on me but my eyes were downcast. Finally tears streamed down my face. I brought my hand to my eyes as I heard my master saying ‘I’ll seal your darkness’_

_I finally answered softly, “Thank you, master.”_

_Soon after Lucy, Erza and Happy appeared._

~^~

After “destroying” the moon they were recovering from the injuries in one of the village’s houses and Gray was lying in bed. He still couldn’t believe they had just defeated the monster that had terrorized so many people – including him. He kept replaying the events from the cave in his mind. But… there was something strange… Had Natsu really said that? That he didn’t want him to die…

‘That’s something so out of character for him to say… we usually fight like cats and dogs… not that I think he would want me to die but… What did he mean with that?’

He stares at the ceiling. His injuries had been patched up and as he raises to sit they twinge with pain and discomfort. In that precise moment Lucy enters the hut. “Gray, you’re awake!”

She smiles and kneels on his side.

“Yeah, yeah. How much did I sleep?” She smiles at him and pours water into a glass. “Around one day. You don’t have to worry. Everything’s alright.” She held the glass to him. He nods and gratefully accepts it. He didn’t even know how thirsty he was until he started drinking.

“Gray, can you walk? The villagers are throwing a party at us. Do you think you are able to go outside?” Lucy was concerned. Despite the discomfort caused by the injuries and some minor pain, Gray nodded and started getting up. When he was standing Lucy gave a scandalized shriek. Surprised he turned and noticed his undergarments were missing. He quickly covered himself and started looking for his clothes.

“As I was saying, dress up and come that the dinner is starting” she was blushing a little as she left the hut. ‘How the hell did that happen?’ Gray wonders as he is grabbing the clothes,  dressing up and went to the hut’s entrance. He took a deep breath and got ready to face the outside.

~^~

The wind was howling and its strength was raising snow. Natsu tried to look ahead the path but it was useless, the snow kept blinding him. He sighed and adjusted the arm that was currently on his shoulder. They had to find shelter and soon because it didn’t matter how much warmth he could produce or how much cold the other could bear, they needed some sort of protection otherwise they were in trouble. As he walked some of the wind was cut. Slowly he approached and noticed that it was a cave on the side of the mountain. It went quite deep what meant the wind didn’t reach the opposite wall. They entered the cave and thankfully the floor was somewhat levelled, with some spiky rocks here and there. Rocks that could be easily dislocated if needed. Natsu dragged Gray and clearing some space on the farthest wall, he cautiously dropped Gray to the floor.

Rolling him onto his back he checked the other’s injuries. His action was met with a groan, it looked like Gray was waking up. When black eyes opened they looked straight into Natsu’s, they were mildly questioning. “Natsu? What’s happening?” He tried to sit but Natsu’s hands promptly motioned so that he remained lying. “We’re somewhere in the Northern  Mountains (1). A snowstorm caught us unaware and I found this cave to shelter us. By the way, do you have anything - provisions, medical kit, anything?” Natsu hadn’t had the time to assess their provisions before. Gray just threw a small bag at him. It contained some dried food, a bottle of water, a small med kit and a blanket. Natsu looked at his satchel and added his own. Well, it seemed they didn’t have much but what they had would be enough to help them pass the night. Coming closer to Gray, Natsu covered him with the blanket. In response an eyebrow was lifted. It said ‘What the hell do you think you’re doing?’

Natsu didn’t answer but made sure to show the other he should remain covered. “I’ll be right back. I’m going to see if I can get something for us to eat.” And he left the cave.

Gray was left without reaction. What did Natsu think he was? Some sort of damsel in distress? He uncovered his torso and was trying to get up when a sudden pain flared in the part of the leg he had just uncovered. Oh good. So his injuries were of this kind, were sensitive to temperature, and cold one at that. Grumbling he sat on the floor and leaned his back to the wall. His back was mostly bare (his shirt being shredded) so the chill that ran his body made him grab the covers. This was a weird situation given his apprenticeship with Ur. Now he sported injuries that contradicted his chilly being. He pulled the blanket to his chin. As there was nothing else to do he looked at the place he was in. In the dim light he managed to see that the cave’s walls had some indents and further there was the entrance.

Outside he saw the blizzard. Usually this weather wouldn’t bother him – it could even make him nostalgic – but today… He shivered with cold. Why did he end in this predicament?

Trying to bury himself more in the covers, he looked at the cave’s entrance, waiting. Right now he couldn’t do much else.

~^~

In the same moment, Natsu was fighting their dinner. He was grumbling under his breath at Gray’s stupidity. The wild beast was giving some fight and that was distracting him a bit but the irritation wasn’t leaving. Few moments later the beast was dead and he started dragging it to the cave. Having lost his distraction he remembered the incident.

~^~

_They were in the middle of the forest and surrounded by enemies. There were more than ten to each of them but they could handle them. Natsu used his fire to knock out the ones that had the bad luck to stand in front of him. Irate shouts and cries of agony followed. He turned and noticed how Gray was coolly (no pun intended) freezing and incapacitating his foes. Natsu grinned and focused in a massive guy. These guys were easy to deal and soon they would be returning to the Guild and life could go back to normal. What he wasn’t expecting was to hear some out of place growls. He shifted his attention partially but then his enemy decided to charge. Natsu dodged and drew a punch. He was surprised as the guy blocked the blow! They were standing there, hands clasped in a momentary balance. Looking closely Natsu noticed the gloves and the vest, that had scales. Could they be…? Dragon scales? But weren’t they supposed to be a rarity? The man, watching his reaction, smirked. “Do you like it? Made of true dragon scales. One of the better robberies I ever did…”_

_He flexed one of the arms that was clasping with Natsu and tried to kick his chest. Natsu gasped with the force but managed to release one of his hands._

_“If you like rarities you have to see our little friends there.” He whistled with his free hand and Natsu heard the growls multiplicate. They were at least three. With a strong pull he managed to throw back the burly guy. Turning around he saw how Gray had incapacitated all his enemies from before but now was backing down to three large beasts and the mage that apparently controlled them. Each beast had approximately the size of a lion, had a mane with what appeared to be pieces of stone, two angular horns, one with a miscellany of red and yellow while the other was just yellow. His paws were edged claws, pointy teeth and a tail that on its end had a flame from where a slick black sting sprouted. One could notice that on the very tip a green liquid was dripping and when it fell to the floor it eroded whatever it fell on. How the hell did they have these beasts? And a person to control them – it was not easy._

_He barely had the time to assess all this because his senses rang and he had to go back to his fight. Now he truly regretted having split the group and only coming with Gray to this mission, while Lucy, Erza and Happy went on another mission._

_Because these beasts were of the worst foes against an ice mage – hell, against any mage except perhaps a fire or a stone mage…_

_He really had to hurry and finish with this guy to go help Gray. Standing up he returned to a fighting stance, fire circling him. Behind him the beasts’ grunts intensified and some came to a stop with clatter. Maybe things were going better than hopped. Maybe he should give more credit to Gray’s magic – not that he didn’t do usually but these beasts could be quite a handful. He dodged the fist that came in his direction and made a hole on the ground instead. Kicking the guy’s legs, the brute fell to the ground and as he was rolling over to get up Natsu, with a flaming leg, kicked the guy in the face, lifting him – despite his immense body – and sent him flying against the bark of an old tree. The tree broke and its halves fell. Now that should finish his part._

_Natsu turned and saw that Gray had already taken down two out of three beasts and their controller. He was now fighting the last but something in his movements started Natsu. Looking more closely he noticed that Gray’s shirt was ripped and his chest and right arm had three large gashes, where he had been injured. Natsu seethed with anger. Gray was in trouble. Not many had sported these injuries and survived._

_Now Gray was backing against a tree – as if thinking which would be the best move – and Natsu started moving. He reached the place, his gaze locking with Gray’s  in the precise instant the beast pounced._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (1) I don’t know the name of the mountains where they faced the Vulcans so I took some liberties with the geography and other things.
> 
> Unbetaed.


	2. A cure

_As the beast was in the air two things happened. First Gray’s ice immobilized it mid-air and then Natsu’s flames enveloped it making a sudden change of temperature that made the beast’s cells go into cellular lysis. Natsu even managed to get in front of Gray and punch that thing away from them. Turning around he saw how Gray was slumped against the tree’s bark and heaving strongly. Blood was oozing from the wounds and he was starting to sweat. Yep, the beast’s venin was working already. Maybe the fact that Gray was an ice mage had something to do with it, he mused in the back of his mind. He tried to get Gray’s attention but his eyes were closed and it seemed as if he was focusing in his breathing to overcome the pain. He stepped back from his friend’s form and went to the beasts’ controller. Moving through the things in the man’s pouch he didn’t discover anything so he turned and neared the guy he had fought. In his belt he found the scroll they had been sent to retrieve. It was really lucky how they had picked the right group back there. Which reminded him. The rest of the enemies would be appearing, searching for their comrades, soon. They had to get going._

_He approached Gray once again and this time he just grabbed the other’s arm and together they headed to the Northern Mountains, one of the fastest ways to Magnolia from where they were. And it could also be quite handy. Maybe this group wouldn’t follow them there. One could hope, right?_

_And so they went._

~^~

Natsu was frowning with distaste.

Thankfully the cave was already in sight and he could vent some of his frustration and worry (not that he would ever admit it) on Gray. When he arrived he noticed how Gray was now sitting, only his eyes and nose coming out from the blanket. Black eyes that had a feverish glimmer bore into his and made Natsu hurry into the cave. Dropping the carcass to the ground he kneeled on Gray’s side, a hand reaching into his forehead. It was burning. ‘This thing’s evolving fast.’ thought Natsu. Noticing the questioning eyes of his friend, he gently removed the hand. “Don’t worry, I’ll take care of you.” he sat on the floor and rummaged through his pouch. His face lightened up and he pulled a bunch of leaves and a few berries. But now he didn’t have a place to boil them. Placing them again on the bag Natsu got up and went is search of a rock he could use. After some rummaging around the cave he found one that was suitable. As the rock was compact and didn’t have a hole, Natsu made a fist and leaned it to one side of the rock. Focusing, he pushed the fist that was on flames into the rock, making a hole. When he was satisfied with the result he stopped and retrieved the leaves and put them in the makeshift bowl. Then he added a handful of snow. This part was ready and now he needed something that could be used as fuel and keep burning in a way that allowed him to boil that water and cook their dinner.  A small search inside and in the immediate surroundings proved successful and Natsu had plenty of things to keep the fire running through he night. He lit the fire and put the bowl of water in it. Next he had to prepare and cook their meal. As he set to work with his usual determination the silent air between them hung heavier than ever.

“So… how many scratches did the beast do?” From Gray’s side some shuffling was heard until, “It’s not so bad, all in all I have six gashes.”

“Hm, we must see if they don’t infect and these tend to get worse pretty quick.” Natsu’s retort ended somewhat abruptly and Gray noticed the stiffness on his shoulders and the tautness of the muscles. ‘Oh boy, here it comes’ Gray braced himself for what was about to come. Well, he better begin the conversation. There’s no way it could be pleasant.

“How was I supposed to know that they had Spyroglals? As much as I know they’re extremely rare – extinct even! How in the world did they have _three_ of them?”

Natsu seemed to react a little at the question but remained silent, as if thinking about the best answer. Finally he stopped what he was doing and sighed. Turning to face Gray, his irritation and concern were evident in his demeanour.

“You do know that we _must_ be prepared for any eventuality and those creatures are the worse for the majority of the mages. And that we faced a gang that is really good in the art of theft. Maybe the reward price was so high for that reason.” Natsu mused, “But the fact that you got injured weakened our force a great deal. We were lucky to get this advance over them but if I don’t heal you quickly there’s a big chance that you may die.” Gray gapped at him. ‘Die? In such a stupid way?’ He fisted the blanket that pooled on his lap until his knuckles were white.

“You… you do know a way to heal me, right?” Natsu smiled soothingly at him. “Yes. The Spyroglals are legends now but I received teachings on how to survive them, hunt them and other things.”

“You did? How?” The words left Gray’s mouth unbidden. He promptly clapped a hand over it, as of trying to take them back. He looked at the floor on his side. Natsu apparently didn’t hear the question but as he approached the fire to retrieve the bowl, his answer was uttered quietly and in a tone that didn’t allow further questions, “Igneel taught me.” He paused for a second then turned and kneeled once again besides Gray. He was serious. “I have to wash your hounds now.” Gray snorted. “Sure thing, go ahead.” He ripped the remainings of his shirt, wincing at the bits of blood that had dried out on the fabric and now pulled at his body. Natsu grinned, some of his usual demeanour returning to him.

“Don’t be such a baby.” But the seriousness quickly returned. “Seriously, this is going to hurt – a lot – because this concoction is quite aggressive. I want you to hang in there, okay?”

Gray’s tense nod was all the consent Natsu needed. With a few swipes of clean snow he gave a superficial cleanup and then carefully poured some of the infusion onto the separated ridges of flesh. When the first drop fell in contact with Gray’s skin, he hissed. At the continued treatment he clenched his teeth tightly, trying to remain in still position so that Natsu didn’t spill any drop of the liquid that was kind of slimy. All his muscles were taut with pain and the force needed to remain quiet, the hands that were previously on the blanket were on his sides, closed for not having someplace to hold onto, his neck muscles corded and almost no sound was escaping his throat. His eyes were shut and sweat was dripping from his face and down his back.

Natsu frowned in concentration and some part of him was aching in sympathy to his friend. He finished the last gash and placed a hand in his friend’s shoulder. Unfocused eyes met his and a whimper that must’ve been choked in his throat escaped. Not able to remain conscious for much longer, Gray let his eyes fall shut and slump into Natsu’s embrace.

Natsu noticed that if Gray was burning before now he was positively blazing – which was good because it meant the medicine was already working. He lay Gray down and covered him. There wasn’t much he could do now that the first stage had started. He hurriedly and distractedly finished cooking the beast for their dinner and went to lay down with Gray, checking the temperature. As he embraced him, he prepared for the worst part – the wait.

Outside a blizzard was rising.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Unbetaed.


	3. Recovery

At some point during the night Gray started tossing and turning, his skin feeling uncomfortably hot, he was feverish. Natsu was on his side in no time. He felt that this was the peak point of Gray’s night. But that seemed that things weren’t going too well. ‘Damn. I was hoping it wouldn’t get to the point. That things wouldn’t come down to this.’ Sitting on the floor besides Gray, he placed the semi-conscious form on his lap, feeling the quick beat of the other’s heart. Loosening the blanket he got the collarbone free. He started nibbling and sucking gently. Gray whimpered and when Natsu bit on the tender skin he let out a hearty groan, falling to unconsciousness the next moment. Natsu laid him on his previous position, and leaned against the wall, once again standing on watch.

~^~

Gray was suffering, the heat was stifling and in the oppressive place where he was hovering he felt he couldn’t breathe. Then something shuffled and weird feelings got onto him. He didn’t know what was happening but when pointy teeth pierced his skin, he moaned out loud. That’s when all these confusing sensations disappeared and only black remained.

~^~

Gray woke up in the morning, feeling dead tired but positively better than the last time he was awake. With eyes still closed, he tried to get closer to the warmth on his side. It was strange. Usually the cold didn’t bother him, on the contrary it felt nice, but today, being near a heat source was very pleasant and comforting. Maybe even more at a subconscious level. He dismissed his thoughts as an after effect of his injury. ‘Wait. Injury?’ Slowly he started opening his eyes but only saw darkness. Had he slept that little, or maybe that much? That was preposterous. Natsu would surely wake him. Sluggishly he raised an arm to his pillow and felt the thump of a heart and a chest that was raising and falling evenly. Oh crap! He was snuggled to Natsu’s chest! And it was so dark because his head was covered with the blanket.

Peeking carefully out of the blanket he recoiled when the sunlight reflected in the snow hit his eyes. As if reacting to his movements, Natsu was waking up.

Seeing that Gray was awake and conscious relieved Natsu a lot. So he had managed to survive both the poison and the cure (that, Igneel had said, in the majority of the cases weakened the body and increased the rate of the poison’s dispersion) but cringed a little when he remembered that he had lent a ‘hand’ to his friend. A thing specifically forbidden by Igneel. Oh well, it didn’t matter now and maybe there wouldn’t be any repercussion. Now what mattered was that Gray had survived.

“How do you feel?” he asked quietly at a slowly blinking Gray.

“Tired… thirsty… but better than before, I guess.” he  croaked.

“I’ll get you some water.” Natsu said as he carefully disentangled himself from Gray. As he exited the cave to scoop some snow into the makeshift bowl he noticed that it was a good thing that the weather had been so bad. The traces leading to the cave were most likely erased and they could relax a bit as Gray rests and recovers, well, maybe. It didn’t hurt anyone to remain alert. Stifling a yawn he returned to the cave.

The night had been quite tense and he had been all the time on edge, waiting for any change that may or not occur. He only had relaxed and dozed off as the sun was rising, as Gray had remained calm for a long time.

Bringing the fire to life he put the bowl in it to melt the snow and only then he presented the bowl to Gray. He watched his friend drink it greedily and when he finished Natsu could really see how he wanted more. Grinning, he repeated the process and when Gray asked for a third he had to refrain his friend. “That’s enough for now. Next you should try to eat”, he presented a slice of crispy meat. Gray seemed to get sick but when Natsu coaxed him a little he managed to finish his slice, gulping the aftertaste that was making him ill with an herbal tea Natsu had prepared in the meantime.

“How the hell did you have so many spices and herbs in there?” Gray asked, his curiosity having the best of him.

“Oh, the majority of them were in the medical kit that Mirajane gave us – I have no idea who prepares those things but they are very complete – but I had some in my pouch. You never know when you’re going to need any of this stuff…” Natsu answered as he was contemplating the fire.

“Hm, you’re right.” Gray’s eyes were drooping and his body felt like lead. Damn, it was terrible being sick!

Natsu noticed how his friend was struggling for consciousness so he got up and grabbed the blanket, covering Gray with it and making him lie down. It was better for his treatment if the body had time to recover and that expended a lot of energy.

Gray motioned as if to stay awake but the comfortable cocoon of heat that was surrounding him and his body’s pleas won the battle against the mind, pulling him into unconsciousness. Natsu sat by his side, once again a long wait was in line for him.

During the rest of the day Natsu woke Gray a couple of times so that he could eat, drink and answer to the call of nature.

By Natsu’s calculations they were stuck in the cave for at least a couple of days, just a couple of days until the effects of the medicine were visible. Hopefully Gray would be less tired and able to be awake for longer periods of time. Because Natsu didn’t want the times when he would be alone with his thoughts, thoughts he would rather not have and keep buried deep in the recesses of his mind. He preferred to pass that, thank you very much. However as time passed and only Gray’s even breath was heard, lulling him to a state of semi-vigil, locked doors within him were opened, chilling him to the core. He woke up with one of his sides pressed against Gray’s warm back. ‘I must’ve shifted in search of some heat source, huh.’  Getting up he noticed that the fire had died and outside the sun was almost setting. Oh well, now he had to continue taking care of his friend.

He started working.

~^~

Being a nurse wasn’t exactly Natsu’s favourite task but, as in his line of work injuries happened fairly often, one had to know how to take care (even if only of himself).

He didn’t like how fragile a person was when injured because that made him think about life’s fugacity and how easily as a snap of two fingers one’s life could disappear. He didn’t like it when his friends got hurt (when he was hurt things were different because on one side, he felt the injuries and could assess their seriousness by himself and on the other hand, his regenerating capabilities were better than his friends’). It made him feel useless how he couldn’t help them fight back, only help on the exterior, never on the fight inside – the hardest fight.

These days had passed either quickly or way too slow. Natsu didn’t know. Some parts had been pretty quick but others looked like years were passing by, at a pace slower than a snail’s. Thankfully Gray had awaken and now they passed most of the time in friendly (or not so much) banter, talking about mundane things but never approaching the events that led to their present predicament. It was better to Gray’s recovery if the mood was somewhat light.

So, time passed and Gray was much better. That’s when Natsu decided was time for them to return to the Guild.

“Do you think they’re still searching for us?” Gray asked as he was rolling one of the blankets. Natsu shrugged. “No idea but we should be alert anyway.” Quickly they cleaned what had been their shelter for these few days and got ready to go home.

The sun was high when they left the cave and the snow was soft, making their journey slower than expected. They reached the forest edge when the sun was almost setting. They didn’t talk much during the day, each one worried with other things but when they got the partial cover of the trees, a sigh escaped both of them. At least now they had some cover, contrary to the snowy plane site they just left.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Unbetaed.


	4. Home

Their return to Magnolia was pretty quick, considering, and they didn’t encounter anything. No enemies, no ambushes. They walked through the city where the only persons on the streets were either groups of friends, couples or workers.

When they reached the Guild voices could be heard through the closed door. Apparently their friends were as cheerful as ever.

A good mood was emanating from the inside so Natsu opened the door with a bang, making the room momentarily silent. When they saw who had arrived, the party continued, more cheerful than ever – if that was even possible. Now they were drinking to the safe arrival of their friends.

Natsu and Gray got to the counter where Mirajane smiled cheerfully at them. Happy was in Natsu’s head in no time, pleased that he had finally returned.

Lucy closed the book she was reading and turned to the guys, “What took you so long? We parted the same day and you arrived a week after the time we thought your mission would take. Was the mission that hard?”

“Well, we can say we encountered some unexpected difficulties. Some beasts we thought were extinct attacked us. Then we had to recover.” Natsu dismissed the events. Lucy’s mouth dropped. Was he serious?

Behind them Erza’s voice was heard, “How about you Gray? You look a little ashen.” Their friends noticed how Gray hadn’t said a word since their arrival and was leaning heavily on the counter. His breaths were somewhat laboured and, an unusual thing, no piece of clothing had left his body since he had crossed the door.

Gray shrugged. What he needed now was to lie down and sleep this headache and tiredness away. Natsu looked at him with a hint of worry. Grabbing Gray’s arm he all but dragged him away, in the direction of his house. Everybody at the Guild was silent at this.

The way to the house was way too slow to Natsu’s taste but when they arrived he dropped Gray on the bed, then went to the bathroom in search of a medical kit. It was time to redress the bandages. When he returned to the room, Natsu noticed how Gray hadn’t moved one bit from where he’d been dropped.

It wasn’t easy but with a bit of gymnastic from his part, he managed to clean and put fresh bandages on his friend’s prone form. With a hand he reached the forehead. It was still too warm to Gray’s usual body temperature but that was to be expected from the recent injuries and the posterior “healing method” used. Now Natsu felt he better let his friend rest. Leaving the room he closed the door very carefully. He better ask Mirajane to keep an eye on him during the night.

~^~

Gray woke up in a place that he wasn’t recognizing. Then the softness of the bed and the familiar noises told him he was home. He relaxed, feeling safe. Burrowing further in the blankets he was getting ready to doze off again when a small noise caught his attention (well, the part of him that was aware and alert). He opened his eyes and his senses all came to life and now he could perfectly sense someone moving around the house, coming towards his room. Closing his eyes and forcing his body to relax, he feigned sleep. The steps got closer, stopping by his side. Sensing a hand loom over his face his hand quickly grabbed it and the person gave a startled response.

Gray opened his eyes and saw Mirajane.

Now he was extremely confused.

Sensing his confusion, Mirajane pulled her hand from his and sat on a nearby chair. “Hey there. Did you sleep well?” Gray began getting up and sitting, grimacing with pain at the pulls on his injuries. “Yes, I’m feeling more like myself for the first time in I don’t know how many days. But… what are you doing in my house?”

This question earned him a smile. “Natsu asked me to have an eye on you. He didn’t want you to get worse before he could kick your ass for I don’t remember what.”

Gray snorted. That was so typical of Natsu. Always thinking of ways to piss him off and a fight. At least, now that they were home, he could feel more comfortable around Natsu, leaving behind some awkward moments from the prior days. Mirajane shook him out of his thoughts when she got up, with her hands on her hips. “Now, don’t you get too comfy. It’s time to change the bandages and you need to eat.”

Grumbling under his breath at having been ordered around (but his stomach making itself know and agreeing loudly), he did whatever Mirajane told him to. Sometime later he was again resting on his bed, half sitting, leaning in a pile of pillows. Dizziness was creeping in. Mirajane said it was an effect from the medicines.

However Gray didn’t hear her complete the sentence, having completely blacked out.

~^~

When he woke up again the moon was already high in the sky, at least that was what he imagined, from the luminosity that came through a breach on the curtains. So he had slept the whole day. ‘This is becoming a bad habit…’ However, tiredness once again crept upon him. On the bedside table he saw, after turning on the lamp, a couple of sandwiches and a glass of water accompanied by the medicines and a note from Mirajane ordering him to ‘eat, take the pills and sleep. Or else.’ Gray shuddered with the implications – it never was good to fall on the bad graces of the girls from Fairy Tail – and, as there wasn’t anything better to do, followed the instructions.

~^~

The next time he woke Lucy was there, reading a book while Happy was hovering in the air. ‘Hm, Natsu shouldn’t be very far’, he thought absentmindedly.

Lucy lifted her eyes from the book, as she turned yet another page and noticing he was awake she approached him immediately. “You’re awake, finally. Do you know how worried we were? Especially when Natsu told us about the Spyroglals. I still can’t believe… I only thought they existed in stories and stuff… I mean… Ah, whatever! Anyway, you had us very worried! Don’t you _dare_ repeat the feat.” She said the whole tirade in one go and when she finished her hands were on her hips and she was looking expectantly, one eyebrow lifted.

‘Isn’t she being too harsh? It’s not as if I did it on purpose. And now I’m injured and don’t need her rubbing me on the face on that account.’ Gray was whining inwardly, because he knew better than to say this out loud. Outwardly he shrugged, “I’ll try to be more careful from now on.” Lucy seemed to be content with the answer and went to the kitchen. She returned with some food and a glass of water. Gray groaned. It appeared that now he just ate, slept and popped pills up. When was he going to be able to get out of bed and go out on missions again? Not that he didn’t like his friends but being bedridden with them nagging wasn’t something he felt he could stand for a long time. Hell, he had barely awaken and just the thought of spending the day in bed was making him claustrophobic!

They were here and wouldn’t let him go in the moments in which he would want to be by himself.

And where the hell was Natsu? The flame-eating bastard hadn’t appeared yet and somehow that was grating on his nerves. Gray chose to ignore that.

And as a few days passed, with Gray in bed recovering, his mood got terrible and by the end of one week nobody could stand him and Erza was the only person who could approach without fear – because it didn’t matter what vile thing he wanted to say, just the thought of her looking at him with a sword in hand managed to _calm_ him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Unbetaed.


	5. Back to normality

The first morning Gray woke in his apartment by himself told him that things had finally returned to normal. He got up and did his usual routine, making a mental note to buy supplies, and left the house. When he got to the Guild he found that it was half deserted. Which, wasn’t such a rare thing, given the time of day. He got to the counter where Mirajane was sorting through glasses and various things, while whistling a tune softly. She gave a bright smile and promptly placed a plate with toasts and a glass of milk filled to the brim. Gray’s first reaction was a scowl. ‘What does she think I am, a little kid? I had hoped we had passed this stage…’ he was grumbling under his breath but as Mirajane leaned in his direction, now with an extremely forced smile plastered on her face, he shut up and started chomping down the food. She could be very scary when she wanted – and her shape shifting ability did help a great deal with that.

Seeing that he was acting as usual, with no signs of illness or discomfort Mirajane returned to what she was doing before. Apparently she was the only person who gave a crap about keeping the Guild at least in minimal order and clean. Sometimes she wondered why did she still bothered.

Having finished eating and drinking, Gray turned around, looking for something. It was strange how the Guild felt empty without certain persons. He was about to open his mouth when Mirajane cut him in, “Natsu, Happy and Lucy went in a mission yesterday. They didn’t tell you anything in case you wanted to go with them. And Erza went on an S-class mission just this morning.”

‘How could they? Did they really think I would be so childish and just want to go with them. I know my limits and I wasn’t in the best conditions – but I knew it. Hell, I’m Gray Fullbuster. A member of Fairy Tail and as such I am capable of going on a mission alone! As if!’ he screamed inwards.

“Hmpf, what a childish thing to do.” He went to the board. Giving a good glance over, he picked one of the requests and went to the door. “I’ll be going.”

Mirajane was behind him in no time, with a hand on his shoulder, making him stop and turn to her.

“What do you think you’re doing?” she asked in a stern voice, a frown on her face.

Gray dismissed her apprehension, “I’m going on a mission. That’s nothing new. As a member of this Guild I’m entitled to it, right?”

“But you just came from a rough mission.  You should be recovering still.” She squeezed Gray’s shoulder to empathize her words.

“I think I’ll pass. Besides, I could use the money.”

He left, leaving Mirajane with her arm still raised. Whispering she pleaded, “At least be careful and stay safe.”

She had a _bad_ feeling about this.

~^~

Natsu, Lucy and Happy were somewhere in the middle of a forest. It was a tense atmosphere, with Natsu dragging his feet behind Lucy and looking quite sorry. Lucy was with _a_ temper that none of her companions wanted to rise.

Because they knew that if they said a wrong word she would explode and it wouldn’t be a nice thing to see. Especially if she pulled out her whip and gave them a first hand exhibit of how efficient with it she was.

When she tripped on a tree root and nearly fell they knew that the _peace_ (if one can call the heaviest atmosphere ever _peace_ ) was broken.

Lucy finally let her rage run freely. And the worse part was that it was all directed at Natsu!

“You… You… This is all your fault!” she started stomping her foot. She hadn’t directed her eyes at Natsu yet but he was already looking at the floor, with a contrite expression on his face.

“If it weren’t for your motion sickness problem we wouldn’t be here! In the middle of nowhere! With at least two days walking ahead of us until we reach Melpomonis! Why? Why did you have to vomit on those people? And on that Government member and his family? Those kids are going to end up thinking that we are all some kind of brutes that don’t respect nothing or anyone! And the Master? I’m sure they’re going to fill a complaint about us and when we arrive to the town we’re gonna be wanted, and the population’s going to come after us with pitchforks! Oh God, oh God!” she was crouching with her hands on her head and a cloud of gloom around her. Happy was about to say something but Natsu signalled him to stay put. Natsu gulped and neared Lucy. Sure, she was depressed now but the moment he would do anything she would be spitting fire again (figuratively speaking, of course).

“You… know it wasn’t my fault,” Lucy’s hands left her head, “it’s not my fault that I feel terrible in all transportation means. I know I shouldn’t have eaten…” a twitch ran through her body, “but I forgot.” another twitch, “And how could I know that that guy was important? Would you be less upset if it were just some poor guy…”

Warning bells were ringing in his head but then Lucy got up swift and quickly, grabbing Natsu’s vest. Her eyes were burning, hands trembling and when she spoke, she did it with such a sepulchral voice that even managed to scare Natsu. Happy was long gone, having sought the tree tops’ protection.

“No, I would mind anyway but you… had… to go… and… ruin… everything… with… your… motion… sickness!!” she had been punctuating every word with a shake on Natsu’s vest, her last shake was so hard that she let go of Natsu who fell on the floor. This was going to be a great mission. Yeah right!

In itself it wasn’t anything special; go to assigned town, find chest with cursed stuff, find a way to uncurse it (okay, that one may be a little tricky), take it to client.

But with Lucy like this…

‘No, this is not going to be a pleasant mission. We haven’t even arrived at the place and she’s already like this. Well, a little bit by my fault but, even so!’ Natsu’s thoughts distracted him from the worse of her fury.

She was, after venting a big part of her fury, already walking ahead.

“Hey Natsu, do you think she may let us go to the river and try to get some fish?” Happy was hovering behind Natsu, having left his hiding place.

Natsu gave a humourless laugh and as he was getting up he answered, “If you don’t want her _good mood_ coming your way, I wouldn’t ask her.”

With this they started following their raging friend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Unbetaed.


	6. New Mission

The walk to the city was – as expected – a _bit_ unpleasant. When they did get to the town the first thing they did was search for an Inn to stay. The rain that had surprised them left a group of unhappy (even Happy) people in its wake. After a quick shower and drying up Happy, Natsu was now at Lucy’s door, waiting for her so they could dine. Not only because he could be a *cough*gentleman*cough* but also because she might pay for the dinner – exceptionally of course… Some singing came through the door and this perked Natsu up. If Lucy was singing it meant that maybe she would be in a better mood and would pay the entire bill. He started shifting his weight from foot to foot. He was being very careful around her since the train matter but enough was enough.

What was it with girls to take years to get ready and sometimes to come out looking as if nothing had happened? Yep, that was a complete mystery in Natsu’s opinion.

He knocked on the door. Soon Lucy opened it and she was, well, normal. “Yes?”

“Hm, are we going to have dinner?”

“Oh, it’s this late already? Yes, yes, let’s go.” They turned in time to see Happy flying at full speed, tears in his eyes.

“I thought you had forgotten me, Natsu!” He was perched up in Natsu’s arm, hugging him and looking daringly at Lucy.

“There, there. We were going to get you right now. Did you, at least, remember to close the door?” Natsu was frowning, trying to see down the hall, where their room was.

“Aye! Of course I did. Are we going to eat now? Fish, fish!”

Natsu smiled, sometimes it was easy to distract him…

They went down the hall and found that Natsu’s room was, indeed, closed and locked. Finally, it was time to eat. They went to the restaurant that was, given the hour, pretty full. They got to a stall and a garçon gave them the menus. They chose their foods (Natsu picking half the list – he wasn’t _that_ hungry). When the garçon left to retrieve their food, Lucy promptly got into business mode.

“So, we finally got to Melpomonis. It took us more” she glared heatedly at Natsu – who gulped – while Happy hid himself with the table cloth, “to get here than expected. Now we must find some info about the chest. From what says here,” she grabbed the mission pamphlet ”’The chest attracts the greed of everyone that comes in contact with it. Then misery comes upon whoever has it.’ How fun.” She stopped because the food was being brought. It was a bit funny to see the man struggle to balance all those dishes. ‘Shouldn’t he bring less dishes and do more times his way to the kitchen? Isn’t that taught in their school? That’s even common sense. How strange…’ but as the tuna steak with sweet potatoes was in front of her she dismissed these thoughts. It smelled so good and seemed so tasty. When the salad was in front of her she finally attacked. Well, not literally – Natsu was taking care of that.

All that serious conversation about the mission was postponed for later, being replaced by friendly chatter. They were gossiping about the Guild and Lucy was telling by the nth time how their mission had been fun and easy, thanks to Erza, when something hit her. “Hey, Natsu.”

Unintelligible words answered her, “Why did you avoid seeing Gray before we got into this mission?” The eating noises coming from the other side of the table stopped. She looked up and saw that Natsu, still with his teeth buried in the piece of meat, was looking to the side looking a bit uncomfortable. He bit the meat and chewed it, still not looking at her.

“I have my reasons…” Now, that answer didn’t please her one bit but she had the feeling it would be better if she didn’t push it. Happy felt the slight tension that had risen and didn’t like it one bit so, he better do something to relieve the atmosphere. “Nee, Lucy, can I have a bit of your tuna?” He looked predatory at her plate. Lucy quickly covered it, protecting her precious food. “No way! You have your fish, you haven’t even finished it and now you’re asking for more?” she grabbed her napkin and did tiny balls that she started throwing. This was pretty undignified but she was going to teach him not to look outside his plate!

Natsu inwardly sighed with relief. He was off the hook, not for much time, but for now that would do. He himself couldn’t answer her.

His refuse to see Gray had been instinctive, as if he didn’t want to worsen an already difficult situation. But now he didn’t have to think about that, ‘Just focus on the mission and everything will be fine.’, he resumed his eating, the pile of dishes growing.

Lucy was holding Plue when he finished. The little thing was all trembling, as usual. She was petting him on the head, she raised an eyebrow.

“So, do you want to split the check?” Natsu started whining and Lucy sighed, defeated.

“All right! I’ll pay today but tomorrow is your turn.” Natsu jumped, a fist high in the air. “Thanks Lucy!” Happy following his lead and even Plue put a paw in the air. She tried to calm them down.

They were causing a ruckus, what made all the customers and employees on the restaurant look at them. “Why can’t I have normal friends that don’t cause havoc wherever we go?” she sighed rhetorically. “Because it wouldn’t be so fun, aye!” the flying cat answered, which earned him a warning glare. She paid the bill and dragged her friends from the place in a flash.

The restaurant was part of the Inn but wasn’t in it, one had to cross a garden to get there. The group was now doing the inverse track, back to the Inn. They were going through a sea of dark green, with illumination here and there what helped to create a mysterious ambiance. A stream could be heard and as they were crossing the small bridge – only halfway to go – Lucy returned to the matter that had brought them to this place.

“So… how do you want to do? We go to the rundown part of town, because I have no doubt it must be in a place like that, and…” she stopped at the gesture to be silent Natsu had done.

“We’ll continue this later. Now won’t you tell me how your story is going? I had Levy complaining to me the whole time that, as you were busy with Gray, you couldn’t write and that it was all my fault.” Lucy laughed at him.

“You deserved it, hehehe! And things are going pretty well. I might use some parts from our adventures and all. Yeah, because sometimes we end up in each situation… Oh, do you remember when…” they continued talking excitedly and remembering fun and embarrassing moments until they were inside Natsu’s room.

When they were accommodated Lucy finally asked, “Why did you stop me back there?”

“Because you were discussing something from the mission that we better not have anyone overhear. Fairy Tail does have the reputation of being brash and rowdy but it doesn’t mean that we have to act that way in every situation.”

“Oh, you are right. By the way that you act in most of the time nobody would notice that you do have a brain up there.”

“Hey!” Natsu frowned at her.

“Just kidding, just kidding. But you do have a point. And now, do you think we may plan something for the mission? Do you have any idea at how to uncurse the chest?” She was sitting with Plue, once again on her lap.

“The mission, we may think of something now and about the uncurse part, we’ll see when we get there…”

“Yeah, we have no idea about the fundamentals of the curse, specifically. So, when do you want to gather information?” They started making a plan with the information they possessed. When that part was decided Lucy was yawning, Natsu was looking dreamily at the pillow and at the foot of the bed Plue and Happy slept soundly.

“Well, we can only plan to a certain point. If we continue we’re not going anywhere. Shall we call,” yawn “it a night?”

“Yes, yes. I’ll see you tomorrow, go enjoy the bed.” This earned him a mild glare.

Lucy was about to pick Plue up but decided against it. Oh well, the quicker she got to the room, the quicker she would sleep in that soft, comfortable bed. And she was tired! Sleeping on the forest’s floor wasn’t pleasant and now she deserved to be a bit spoiled. Forget about the mission! If only for some hours of unconsciousness. But comfortable unconsciousness nonetheless.

Lucy left the room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Unbetaed.


	7. A Disturbing Turn of Events

Natsu sighed and flopped onto the bed, arms behind his head. It was true that usually they would charge with a mindless (and sometimes comical) plan and that was the Guild’s way; _Destroy first, ask later_ ; but now they had to be careful. Something about this town was off, his nerves had been on edge ever since they had arrived but he tried to act his usual unconcerned self. It was better if no one noticed his reactions. Well, he might be a bit paranoid but his senses had never failed him before. This reminded him of Igneel, how he had praised him for following his intuition and… ‘No! I can’t go down that road now!’

He rolled to his side, pulling up the cover that was at the bed’s foot, near Plue and Happy. He closed his eyes and tried to reason with himself, ‘I must sleep now. It won’t do any good to our mission if I’m not well rested. Well, rested, at least. So, I have to distract myself. Think about relaxing things…’

Closing his eyes he tried to relax but…

“Gah! It’s no use!” He sat on the bed.

Why was falling asleep so hard? He had slept well all the other days before even if on the forest’s hard floor. What was missing now? He heard Happy murmur something. Then it clicked! He had slept with Happy near and the feel of him near, the fact of not being alone, had relaxed him. He smiled and grabbed the two pets. Then decided to do a thing that was very out of character. He put one on each side of him, pulled the covers over them and turned off the light.

This was quite unusual for him but in some nights he had to know that there was somebody with him. It made things easier.

This time it didn’t last long until Natsu was sound asleep.

~^~

The next day, it was around midday, found the group walking down the street, towards the old part of town. They were up since early in the morning, having tried to trace the chest. They asked around and the rumours indicated that it may be on the old part of town, some strange things had happened around there but people didn’t like to go there.

The further they walked in the mote decrepit the buildings became. Allowing plenty of room form an ambush, Natsu couldn’t help but notice. The mission pamphlet indicated the last person who had been in possession of the chest. They had asked around and ended here, in front of some rundown house. They looked at each other. Then Lucy decided to knock on the door. Turns out that it was open. “You know that we could enter right away? I don’t suppose that good manners matter much in a place like this…” Natsu whispered behind her.

“Huh, you’re right. Let’s go.” In the precise moment they set foot in the place they were surrounded by a bunch of goons. Lucy quickly looked at Natsu and mouthed ‘Let me do the talking.’

The small headshake went unnoticed to the others and Lucy lifted her hands in a calming manner. “Hm, we come in peace. We just wanted to ask to mister… huh… Porsena…”

She was cut when a voice coming from the darkness on their right spoke, “And may I know what matters do you have with him?” A colossus appeared in front of them. He was very tall and very muscled, with a shaved head and a scar that ran from his left temple down to his collarbone. On his back a double edged ace sprouted but she could sense that it wasn’t his only defence, as he emanated a vibe that made you want to flee.

She gulped and continued, “You see, we-we can only discuss this matter with him…” She sensed Natsu getting closer behind her. “I don’t think they’re going to listen to us. And they are from a Dark Guild.” The whispers on her hear froze Lucy. ‘Shit!’ Now that he mentioned it, some of the guys that she could see had what seemed to be a common theme – besides the dark grey and strange orange bands. Some of the men on their exposed skin exposed a symbol, was that a griffon? She tried to remember the contents of that book Levy had lent her about Dark Guilds. ‘Griffon, griffon… Oh yes! The griffon is the symbol of the Cyclades Guild. This is a Guild that operates on the East of the kingdom. Lately they’ve accomplished a great number of thefts but due to the lack of proof they’ve always managed to escape any kind of penalization. Oh, this is _not_ good…’ she was about to turn and speak to Natsu when chaos began. Two of the goons precipitated towards her but behind her Natsu pushed her. She fell. Lucy crawled to a calmer place where she got up, grabbed her keys and summoned Taurus. He almost began with his pervert comments but feeling the chaos around the room he started defending his master. The two bladed axe danced happily and their foes’ sorry attempts ended in a blood bath. And when the axe didn’t work, Lucy made sure to knock them out with a well-aimed turn of her whip. Occasional flashes of light showed that Natsu hadn’t remained idle and the increasingly silent room showed that he was doing a good job. When the room got silent it was possible to hear the sound of many feet running in their direction. Natsu looked at Lucy and said, “Do you think you can handle them?”

He pointed to the still dark hole from where the muscled man had come then retreated.

“If they’re around the same level of these guys, I don’t see any problem. You better follow that guy. I know that when those guys try to escape it means things are about to get worse.”

“Okay, so I’ll see you in a sec!” He ran to towards the darkness, his scarf being the last thing she saw before he was engulfed in darkness.

More fight noises and a quickly passing flame appeared here and there showing how Natsu was forcing his way in. It was impossible that this single house was that deep, it must be connected to the house next to it.

She awoke from these thoughts when the new tide of enemies appeared and she had other things to worry about.

~^~

Gray descended from the train. He left the train’s station without looking back, trying to locate himself in the village. Noticing the forest down the road he started walking in that direction. From what he knew, he still had a long walk till the village in question for his mission. He adjusted the strap of the bag on his shoulder and started walking.

He was mentally checking his physical condition. To be true, he was feeling much better and thankfully his wounds didn’t hurt or teared up when he did a more sudden movement. He reached for the pocket in his pants, ‘Hey! Where’s my coat?’ He stopped and saw it on the road that he had just walked. He went back, grabbed it and gave it a shake to remove the dirt. He paused to grab the job’s flyer. He continued walking as he read it once again.

~^~

Natsu ran at full speed in the direction he thought the huge guy had taken. He wasn’t sure due to the darkness of the place but even the darkness seemed to be getting ticker and only an orange glow could be seen at the end of the tunnel. Because, now he was certain, he was somewhere underground those rundown houses. Maybe he was lucky and the person that had the chest was in the place to where Natsu was going.

He finally entered the place from where the light came. It was a room that was completely full of weird stuff. There was barely any place to walk. Piles of foreign objects were on the floor, the desk that was pushed against a wall had various leaves, seeds and animal parts that were still oozing some substance (Natsu quickly turned his head), a bookcase occupied the other wall and books and papers of some sort were spread haphazardly forming more piles and on the walls weird objects sprouted, most of them were of metal that had been contorted in strange forms. However, the room was deserted – so he had to enter through the metal door on the far wall.

He touched the handle and his hand instantly shot from it. It was freezing. Sure, things underground got colder but that was abnormal and a shiver shot up his spine. He grabbed the handle once again and turned. He entered the new room.

This room was bright and Natsu was waited. The colossus from before was talking to a man covered by a dark cloak that was sitting in a highly detailed chair. Its dark wood and some of the figures that were more evident were extremely creepy. Both figures noticed his entrance and a muttered order instantly changed the room’s ambience. Natsu had the time to notice that a chest – probably the one they were looking for – was behind the chair.

Then the guy charged and Natsu in answer closed the door. A fist was marked through the door. The next minute it was opened and the axe turned. Thankfully Natsu had jumped back otherwise he would have lost his head. The man entered the room and now that he had enough space to move the axe, a sanguinary grin adorned his face.

‘Damn, I can’t approach him and I doubt that any long range attack I throw at him will have any effect.’ For now Natsu could only dodge the few attacks the other had made. Maybe if he had something to stop the axe he could have more chances…

He retreated further inside the room, towards the first door while trying to use the room’s confusion to his benefit. He tried to create a barrier with the bookcase (that he threw to the floor) and in the farthest corner he noticed a metal spear. Maybe he could deflect the attack with it, incapacitate the axe and knock out the guy fast. Somehow he knew it wouldn’t be that easy…

He threw himself at it and when his hand was around the handle he kicked the wall and fell in front of his enemy. Natsu made the spear spin at the same time the other had pushed his axe back to get momentum and both objects clashed with astounding force. The impact almost made Natsu loose his balance but he quickly regained it and went forward. The man reacted in the same way but instead of charging he held himself in position, a strange pose. Natsu set his hand aflame and punched. His hand was stopped as it came in contact with a soft and flexible material that was spinning.

Natsu jumped back and looked quizzically at his hand. What was that thing? Between his fingers he saw… wool? ‘What the hell?’

“I would think that you didn’t know me… Allow me to introduce myself, I’m Hiperion, and I’m also a mage.”  He made a mocking bow. “And, as you’ve already noticed, I use wool.”

Natsu shifted slightly, adopting a defensive posture. He didn’t like this. He didn’t like it at all.

“Shall we continue?” Hiperion asked, tilting his head to the side.

“As you’re the obstacle that I have to defeat to get to my goal, yes.” Natsu had barely finished his sentence when something strange started moving. He looked down and his vest was starting to disassemble itself, threads coming apart and combining in what looked like serpents or tentacles. ‘Don’t tell me that my own clothes are going to turn against me. That’s unbelievable.’ He snorted. What wasn’t so funny was when they lunged at his throat and tried to strangle him. Natsu tried to grab them but then other tentacles – coming from his pants – were pulling at his scarf and if the first treads didn’t kill Natsu then the scarf would. Natsu set his hand on fire and started pulling, hoping to be quick enough and tear them apart. Because he wasn’t about to take off the scarf. Cursing at having bought clothes that had tolerance to fire he almost had been distracted that he was in a fight so when he felt his enemy coming close he only had time to throw himself at the floor, setting all the room’s combustible compounds on fire. The whole room was now a perfect inferno and Natsu smiled. ‘Now, that’s much better.’ He ate some flames (that didn’t taste all that good, maybe due to the decomposing stuff on the table) and now he was prepared to finish this off!

Hiperion noticed that the conditions were the most adverse to him but he had his pride so he had to try to defeat this punk till the end. He decided that maybe he could take him down in close combat. He grabbed Natsu by the end of his scarf and pulled him, kneeling him on the stomach. Natsu gasped but recovered quickly (maybe thanks to the blazing room) and fought back ferociously. He kicked the guy on the chest and punched him square on the jaw, throwing him to where the desk once had been.

Hiperion had many bits of wool on his body and it caught fire instantly and he started burning in no time. It was a bit gore but there wasn’t much Natsu could do. He went to the metal door once again and found the room empty but he hadn’t noticed the other guy crossing the room where he was fighting what meant there had to be a hidden exit. The chest they were searching was smashed to bits and in a nearby table a notebook was open. He grabbed it and tried to decipher the scrawny and blurred writing. He only managed to read ‘scissor’ and ‘Calidonis’. Could it be that the chest contained a cursed scissor? And could the other guy, the supposedly Mr. Porsena, come from Calidonis? This was confusing. Maybe Lucy could read more, as she was more used to crappy writings…

He had to wait a little until the worst of the fire on the other room stopped so that he could cross it.

Natsu was walking to the room where he had first entered the house when he heard footsteps, that stopped at the same time as his. But he knew it was Lucy (thanks to his sharp sense of smell).

“Lucy.” He called.

“Natsu! You’re ok! Thank goodness. I was so worried. Come, let’s go to a place with more light.” They walked together but Natsu didn’t see Happy, and was starting to get worried.

“Where’s Happy?”

“He’s up there, with Taurus. Do you want to know what I discovered? We were under surveillance. At least in the restaurant. Do you remember that garçon that didn’t know how to handle the dishes well? He was spying us. Now I’m glad you stopped me from talking back then.”

“And I have something for you to see too. Down there I had to face that big guy from before and there was someone else but he seems to have escaped. And the chest that we were looking for has been destroyed.”

“What do you mean destroyed? And what are we going to do now?”

“I suppose that we can’t do much but I have the feeling that we’re on the verge of something big.” They were on the dimly lit room. That was the stage to a carnage; bodies on the floor and a lot of blood on the floor and walls. Happy was looking at a guy that was tied with rope, perched on Taurus’ arm. “Here, try to read what’s in it because the writing is too weird to me.” He extended the notebook. Lucy grabbed it seriously and started flipping the pages till the last entry written. She focused hard and not even Taurus, that seeing that there was people that could watch the prisoner started complimenting his master. Lucy distractedly dismissed him and went to the door. Natsu tried to extract some information from the prisoner but didn’t learn much.

Lucy returned.

“What says in here is that this is a lookout post, like many others in the surrounding villages. It has a detailed list of the chest’s contents and, strangely, there’s a circle around the word scissor. This is mainly accountancy, provisions, weapons, people to bribe or to shut up. I don’t understand why they left this behind – it’s important stuff – but in the last entry it says that the scissor is to be in Calidonis by the end of next week. It’s important to the ritual or something, I don’t really understand this paragraph….”

“So, I was right. This doesn’t mean nothing good. I never like that word, ritual. Given our history…”

“And what do you want to do? Go in search of these people in Calidonis?”

“Maybe.”

Lucy sighed. This didn’t look good at all. “Did you knock that guy out?”

“Yes. We better go now. We should return to the Inn and get our stuff. And maybe we should get a, hugh, carriage and go.”

Lucy was turning to the door. “I know that you don’t like it but it’s the best way to end this quickly…” She was huffing.

Natsu was behind her, resignedly. “Yeah, you must be right. The sooner we end this the better…” He was almost out the door when something caught his attention. He got close to the body. He knew that face. Turning the unconscious face to the light his suspicion was correct. He knew this man. He had faced – and defeated – him in that mission with Gray…

Did these guys have something to do with those back then? If that was true this thing may be even worse than expected.

He got up and was in front of Lucy in no time but her strange expression made him curious.

“What’s up?”

“Erm, Natsu, you’re on your underwear.”

Natsu froze. He was aware of his vest being ripped off during the fight but, his trousers? He looked down and saw that, indeed, only had his boxers on.

“I wonder what else rubbed off from the time you had with Gray in mission…” Lucy was snickering and Natsu could hear Happy giggling on their side. But he was speechless.

“You’re not going to say anything? I wonder if all the guys in Fairy Tail have this exhibitionist tendencies.”

“Let’s just go to the Inn and forget this, ok?” Natsu was blushing a bit. ‘God, it’s embarrassing to walk around here like this. I don’t know how Gray does it. Which reminds me, I wonder how he’s doing…’

And the group headed to the Inn with two highly amused while one was embarrassingly looking around and trying to get the others to hurry.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Unbetaed.


	8. Lesbos

The morning air was crisp and in the horizon an ominous dark colour could be seen. Gray, however, was walking with a good pace. He was deep inside a forest and the green aura helped creating a climate of mystery. Birds were chirping in the trees and the wildlife could be sensed, doing its usual routines with no interference from man.

Following the track and alert to any danger signs, Gray finally reached the village. It was small and so deep in the woods that it was isolated enough from any main road and its light brown tone contrasted deeply with the green around. It was amazing how this kind of trouble hadn’t happened before, Gray couldn’t help but wonder as he noticed some strange indentations in some buildings and signs of destruction in others. He was in the main street so it was easy to find the authority figure’s house as it was the most fancy one. Only having given a few steps he was stopped by guards.

“Who are you and what are you doing here?” asked the one that was pointing his sword at Gray’s chest. Gray, slowly lifted his arms to show that he meant no arm.

“I’m here because this village requested a mage to take care of some troubles.”

Some of the guards that were pointing his arms at him relaxed when they heard this but the one in front of him was much more suspicious, keeping his stance he asked, “How do we know that you’re here to do that?” Some commotion came from behind the many peasants that were passing by and now watching the scene. A dark haired man with a moustache was making his way towards them and Gray assumed he was the mayor of this village. He stopped beside the guard.

“What seems to be the problem here, Crio?” he asked as he coughed to his hand.

“This stranger entered the village and is saying that’s here to help us. We haven’t been able to confirm this yet.”

Gray mentally rolled his eyes. ‘I wonder if they’re going to let me talk…’ Both the men in front of him were now speaking in a low voice and very quickly while throwing suspicious glances at him. “Ahem, as I was saying, I’m from Fairy Tail and I’m here to help you get rid of your problem.”

“And how can we be sure of that?” Asked the guard.

Gray moved his hands to the top of his shirt in slow and precise movements. He showed them the symbol and a collective huff of relief escaped the group. The people around them started dispersing, going back to their occupations and the guard, Crio if he had heard correctly, finally lowered his sword. The mayor apologised profusely saying that they usually didn’t treat the newcomers like that but ever since this trouble had began they were extremely careful. Gray walked with him, listening with half an ear and answering at the appropriated times, noticing how Crio was following them, still on alert to any strange movement.

‘Still suspicious, huh?’

They reached the house where the mayor said he would give him a room. Inside he met the mayor’s wife and a servant led him to a small room, where the window headed to a small clearing where children played. It was good to see that the problem hadn’t defeated some of the people – no matter the size.

He threw the bag to the floor and sat on the bed. So far nothing had happened but he had seen the effects on the houses and people’s spirits. He looked at the trees. He was torn. A rational part was screaming that he was in no shape to handle a situation like this with, seemingly, so many people as he had deducted from the pamphlet. Could he handle them? Another part argued that his body had recovered enough and was moving satisfactorily and his elemental magic was as strong as ever. This indicated that he could complete this mission, maybe without the major destruction that usually followed their missions – which was also a goal, to protect the village.

He let himself fall back on the bed and lay there making plans to possible situations. A soft knock on the door startled him. It was a good thing that none of his friends were there to see him start at any disturbance and because they would kick his ass for letting his guard down – he was working and should be always alert!

Berating himself mentally for it, he got up and opened the door. The servant was there to take him to the dinning room. He followed her and as they made their way to the dinning room Gray was mentally checking for places from where troubles could come, in the case the house was attacked, and which were the escape routes.

When they finally reached two majestic wooden doors, as he entered he felt he was in some kind of estate dinner or something of the sort. The illustrious people were all gathered there and looking at him with hope in the eyes. He gulped as he thought ‘Oh boy, I have to try really hard to maintain the clothes. It would be extremely awkward if I suddenly appeared naked here. They might even dismiss me from the mission for that…’

He went through the morose task of be acquainted to every person in the room, that looked as if he was some kind of deity, here to solve all their problems. It was a really strange feeling – if one were to compare how things happened in Magnolia. He dismissed these people’s strange reactions because of their isolation. After all, every place had its quirks…

The night was long and boring. During the dinner the conversation had been about matters unknown to him and when they went to the lounge and the alcohol started to run freely the room got more and more stuffy. When this happened he chose to leave the room before he got bare naked.

He escaped to the garden in the back, inhaling the flowers’ scents. The trees were rustling with the passing breeze and contributed to a comforting feeling. Gods, it kind of reminded him of home. Before all the problems brought by Deliora. Absentmindedly he shrugged the coat off his shoulders and let it fall to the floor. He sat besides it. He was far enough from the house but pieces of music and voices could still be heard. He looked at the trees, or more precisely, at the shadows beyond this first line of trees he could see. He had the feeling that he had to adventure in these woods tonight still, to look for the suspecting activity but for now it felt good to be alone.

A small rustle of the grass behind told him he wasn’t alone anymore. He looked slightly to the side and saw hands that were wringing continuously, as if their owner was nervous. He turned completely and looked at the girl he had already been presented to. She had brown hair (he remembered this from before, as right now there wasn’t enough light) in a complicated hairdo and was dressing a simply cut light green dress that reached the floor and had a big cleavage (yep, the eyes were drawn to there) that was partially covered by an écharpe in a flimsy fabric. If he reminded correctly she was called Aglaia and was related to the village mayor.

She was purposely not looking at him and when she shifted he could see that her face was completely red. Some giggles from a nearby bush indicated that she was not alone. Aglaia cleared her voice at least twice, action that made Gray rise an eyebrow.

“I-I was wondering if you are enjoying the party. Aunt Climene wanted me to see if there was anything you needed.” A strand of hair left the elaborate pattern of her hair. She hurried to put it behind her hear, still framing her pretty face. ”And I was wondering if you could stay f-for- I mean, if you could stay in the party and allow me a dance.” She stole a rapid glance to his reaction. He was still sitting, wide eyed. This had to be a joke, maybe a bet? Because if not… these girls from the country did act quickly! He shook his head both to answer her and to clear his thoughts. He got up and answered, watching her reactions.  “I’m truly sorry but unfortunately I have some matters to attend to.”

She looked a little upset but acquiesced. She leaned forward, her bosom now very prominent, almost coming out of her dress. She let it rest against his chest as she murmured to his hear “The ones you’re looking for will gather this night when the moon reaches the zenith at about a kilometre from here, to the south-east of the village, near a big and polished white stone. If you miss this event, they’ll be also meeting at the same place near the beginning of the evening tomorrow.”

Gray was surprised to say the least and his reaction was to fall back a step from her, his hands coming to rest on her hips while her hands were still resting against his chest.

“How can I know that you’re telling the truth?” he managed to say as he looked surreptitiously to the sides – and there wasn’t anything different from before. She smiled at him mischievously.

“Because I know a lot more than I’m given credit for and I know about the wrong stuff that’s been happening and want to stop it.” She leaned in as if to try to kiss him but he released her and turned around. She pretended to be annoyed, crossing her arms and huffing at his rejection.

“Well, at least you’re not going to turn me down to that dance or I’ll tell my uncle.” She turned around and left in the direction of the house. Gray could hear the laughs and words uttered to help her regain her morale at being rejected. Girl things – who was he to question, right?

But what he hadn’t expected was that this girl that looked so timid, that was the first impression he had had of her before, to be hitting on him! Well, she was pretending that part but he didn’t expect that she would help him, giving him inside info while trying to seduce him. What a cover! Anyone watching them would think of that.

Who would’ve thought that that girl was behind the village’s, what?, rebel group ?

Well, he better go back inside and hurry with the stupid formalities that these people made him adopt.

This wasn’t right. The village was in danger and had been attacked several times already and its inhabitants were throwing a party at him. It made no sense! And he had noticed that if, on one side, they were with bad morale, extremely defeated, on the other side they were very eager to immerse themselves in something that would distract them from the problems…

He entered the room and the party was at full swing, people dancing, chatting animatedly and drinking. Where the hell had he thrown himself into? He was walking through the crowd when two hands grabbed his forearm and pulled him to the dance floor. It was Aglaia.

She winked at him then assumed her pompous façade, and, haughtily, put a hand on his shoulder, grabbed the other and started following the music. Gray couldn’t do much but react. He was being _led_ and the guy was the one that did the leading thing. Damn that girl to hell and back! She was the personification of assertive.

Well, Gray wasn’t that bad a dancer if he followed the music. So he stopped and, when he got the rhythm, they danced. They were followed by an amused crowd, watching intently their guest. That’s when he had it. He may have to be here and behave accordingly to an extremely outdated etiquette but he wasn’t comfortable being stared at. They stopped their progression, being covered by the other dancers.

“Alright, just this song but you have to stop that.” He gave a small nod at their spectators. She looked at him and sighed. Gray listened to the music once again and resumed their dancing, both of them flowing elegantly. When the music ended they made a bow and it didn’t take long until the feared happened. All the girls were surrounding him, requesting a song to dance or just to try to touch him (it seemed they had never seen a boy who knew how to dance, these perverts).

He flushed at some inappropriate touches and with the distraction created by Aglaia he managed to escape the majority of the group. What would his friends say if they saw him like this? Besides laughing like there was no tomorrow, that is. He managed to, politely, get rid of some more persistent ones and hadn’t even given two steps when he was pulled to a conversation about the kingdom and other occurrences in which his interlocutor was interested in his opinion.

All this continued till late (or maybe it would be more appropriated to say early in the day as a greyish tone was appearing on the horizon) and as time passed it was clear that some people were polite in a forced way while others were forgetting their troubles at the bottom of a wine barrel.

Gray was extremely tired when he, as guest of honour, could return to his appointed room. The hour for the attackers meeting had long passed and now he had to get some rest to have energy to face that group later.

He sat on the bed and kicked his boots, coat and shirt already having been discarded to the floor. That had been other thing to add to his tiredness, being conscious not to undress. And all those girls! How could a village this small have so many people (young people included) to be at this party? Why did they throw this party if they were in trouble? It just made no sense. Oh well, he better sleep now because going in circles with his mind on the verge of shutting down wouldn’t help. He pulled the covers and lay on the bed. He would never admit it out loud, if he could help it, but he missed his friends…

After closing his eyes it didn’t take long until slumber welcomed him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Unbetaed.


	9. Worse than expected

Birds were chirping happily and the sun was irritating with its bright luminosity. Gray was waking slowly but his mood wasn’t the best. His head was pounding because of the few hours of sleep. When was he going to learn that he worked better either not sleeping or sleeping the usual. Just sleeping a couple of hours didn’t help him much.

Well, he better get up, right? This way he might do something useful and be done with this mission because, truth be told, he wanted to go back to Magnolia. He dressed up and packed up his things. He might have to leave and so it was better if he had his stuff. Then he decided he had to find the kitchen and a good cup of coffee – he was sure he was going to need it.

He lost some time, wandering aimlessly through the halls until he found it. Well, in fact it almost found him instead as the door opened and almost hit him in the face. A maid hurrying from the inside, not even sparing a second glance in his direction. He grabbed the door, that was slightly ajar and entered what could (should even) be considered a beehive in complete effervescence. He dodged servants that came from every direction (had they been these much the night before?) until he sighted the girl that had accompanied him to the dinning saloon the previous night. When she lifted her eyes from her work she noticed him and, when she completed her task, she approached to greet him. “Can I help you, sir?” she asked as she finished cleaning her hands to the apron.

“Hm, hi. I wanted something to eat. And a cup of coffee, if possible.” She nodded.

“Why don’t you go to the saloon and wait that I bring you the food there. If you could wait a little longer you could have lunch. We’re about to serve it, as the masters got up later than usual.”

“I don’t want to sound rude or anything but, what time is it?”

“It’s early in the afternoon. As I was saying, you could go and wait a little and I’ll bring you the food.”

“I’m sorry but I’m in a hurry. So I was wondering if I could just eat here in the kitchen real quick and be done with it.” She looked around until she spotted a calmer place. “Very well. Come, there’s a calm place over there. I’ll bring the food quickly.”

“And coffee.” Her mouth twitched exasperatedly. “And coffee.” And led him to the end of a long table. He sat while she left to retrieve the food. Now Gray had time to look around without bothering anyone. The kitchen was a big place, with two long tables occupying the centre. On one wall there were counters where people were working (he couldn’t see what they were doing because they were so many), on another a set of hearths and stoves were cooking things at full blast. On the other table people were chopping and slicing vegetables and fruits. And in the table he was at they were arranging the meat to look presentable to the dishes. On yet another wall (the one that was covered with windows and headed to the garden) a line of sinks with men and women were doing the dishes non-stop in a well coordinated manner (as dirty dishes appeared magically). Finally, the wall to his right was covered with bookshelves and some dry ingredients and spices, with a door in the corner that probably headed to the pantry.

All these people were dressed in black and white, some of them dressed as French maids and butlers and the kitchen staff had black pants and white shirt.

The servant returned with bread, cheese, a piece of meat and a large cup of coffee. Gray accepted everything with gratitude, that she accepted with a nod before returning to her work. He started eating. This was a lot of food.

‘Maybe I better save some bread and cheese for later, in case I need it. It would be a burden if I asked that girl to bring me more things. Oh well, bring the meat and thank the gods for coffee.’ He ate quickly and left through the windowed doors. Finally outside! He had his bag and… where the hell was his coat? It must’ve fallen off somewhere because he remembered having it when he left the room. It wasn’t the first time, it wouldn’t be the last. He shrugged and looked at the sky. All clear and it promised to be quite a warm day. Still looking at the sky he situated himself and started walking in the direction Aglaia had indicated the night before. To where that big rock, was it a monument?, was. It was a fortunate thing that not many people were in the streets and he could pass unnoticed.

Maybe luck was on his side…

~^~

Gray stopped. He was in a tiny clearing and had walked for what felt like way too long. He had walked in the appointed direction since he had left the village and his sole companions were the green from the trees and the natural forest background – birds chirping and the rustling of leaves. And now his body was demanding attention.

His stomach was growling rather loudly and he figured it would be better to make it stop. No good would come his way if he let it announce his presence to the enemies – he would be the laughing stock of the guild if that happened. So, he sat on the floor and rummaged through his bag, finding the cheese and the bread. He dug in with great appetite. He stretched his legs and leaned on a tree and noticed that the legs were slightly – not yet entirely – sore. If he stopped for long they were certain to start hurting. Could this be a signal that not everything was well? Besides, this hunger of his only a couple of hours after he had had a meal? He could last a lot of time without eating – and now this? But he paid no mind. These were minor, easily resolved, things and he was certain that he was going to be successful in this mission.

He finished his meal and resumed his journey in what he hoped was the right direction, although Aglaia had assured him that the path to the monument was easy to follow.

He was starting to get nervous because for all that he had walked only deep bushes and large tree barks had greeted him. With these worries in mind he was momentarily distracted and stumbled on a rock and fell to the floor. His good reflexes saved him from falling face first so when he lifted his hands to check for any problem they were covered by a thin layer of dust. He was kneeling in a small trail. It just had to be the path!

He got up, brushed himself up and looked at the sky. ‘Hm, the sun’s already there? I have to hurry if I want to be there in time. Aaand… South-East’s that way!’

He was now walking with more purpose. When he managed to see the white top of the rock from afar he still had one hour before the meeting – by his calculations. He continued walking, now with extreme caution and all his senses alert. Maybe he should approach a bit more and climb a tree to assess the situation and don’t lose the element of surprise, if needed. He was walking in the most silent way he could. He was near a tree from the third ring of trees that surrounded the monument when he finally felt it. The woods that during the whole day had been making the background noise were now dead silent. Damn! He had fallen into a trap!

In the precise moment he came to that conclusion, he turned his back against the tree (at least he didn’t have to worry about his back for a while) and his enemies emerged from everywhere around him. Some even fell from the tree top of the tree he had his back against. He was surrounded.

The world stood still for what looked like hours then everything fell apart. Gray didn’t even register his actions, his body just… reacted.

He charged to the clearing where the rock stood and started freezing enemies (when possible), encasing them inside large walls of ice. At some point he conjured a large ice spear and managed to decrease the number of enemies by manoeuvring it in a circular movement. He got to the nearest pile of bodies together and made a cage with large pillars of ice.

He inspired deeply. The first round of enemies had been taken care of, now he just had to wait for the rest of them to appear. From prior experiences he knew these kinds of groups always operated in large number.

But, damn, he was _sweating_. This never happened to him. Not only because of his frosty nature but also because his body was healthy and fit. He shouldn’t be like this after knocking out only, he gave a glance over and counted around seventy bodies, more or less. And this was another thing that was unusual. Enemies didn’t give their opponents time to breathe. They attacked when the other party was at its lowest to have more chances of winning. And this eerie feeling that was growing in his gut.

‘I just have to hold it a little longer, kick the asses of those who are coming and then I can rest again. Maybe Mirajane was right and I wasn’t ready for this adventure yet.’ He had his eyes in the trees ahead but a clapping sound came from above. He looked up and two figures were hovering, watching the destruction.

“So… did you enjoy beating the crap out of our men? They aren’t the strongest but together they are a force to be reckoned of.” Said the smallest form that jumped and was now in front of Gray. He was skeletal and had an emaciated skin. A ragged tank-top and dark pants that had seen better days completed the ensemble. The long hair had a dirty grey tone and he had a long collar of beads around his neck. It was odd. Then he noticed the symbol on the guy’s belly. It was… a bird? No, wait. It was a griffon. ‘What the hell?’

The other person jumped to the ground also and was getting closer to Gray. He was towering over Gray (that had no place to escape to) with the dark cloak and an orange bandana covering the features. Then a female voice was heard. “Can we finish this now? They must be here soon. They did have more time to arrange things.” Gray subtly looked around. There was no one else here so that voice could only come from the cloaked figure.

‘Oh boy, they are two and I’m not feeling top notch. Will I be able to defeat them? No! I can’t think like this otherwise I’m defeated from the start. Come on! Snap out of it!’ as he was thinking the guy in front of him made a strange movement with his hand and then something was climbing up his legs, immobilizing them.

‘What the-?’ He looked down and grass was coming up. Not the usual thin blades but green ropes. Gray didn’t think twice, he froze the floor where he was stepping and it was easy to break free.

“Oh Harpocrates. You didn’t think that those things would stop him. I mean, seriously?”

The guy snorted and, completely aware that they had this fight won, said, “I don’t see you doing anything Astargatis. So, please oh mighty one, do your magic.”

“If it was so that you behaved like I brat I shouldn’t have brought you. But, if you insist…” she opened the cloak and let it slide to the ground. She was huge. There was no other word to it. She was very tall and well built, however there was something amiss. She was wearing a simple dress that was of an ashen blue colour with an orange ribbon at the waist and enhancing parts of the dress such as the sleeves and bottom of the skirt. The bustier opened in a rectangular form, allowing one to see the Guild’s symbol on her collarbone. She was in no way dressed to combat. He continued alert and saw her take something from hidden folds in her dress. It was a mirror.

His breathing was coming more laboured now, apparently his body wasn’t going to last. And, as if sensing how much he was weakening, his foes launched another attack. One of them at least. The woman had her back turned to him and was making strange, jerky, movements. So, the grass was growing once again and Gray froze it, having time to do an ice sword that he swung, the guy dodging it easily.

Now he was facing the monument with the guy looking happily at him and the woman caught up in her own world, talking and making gestures at the mirror. That’s when hard and pointy things poked him on his back (his shirt was tattered and half-ripped off his body from the previous fights) and when he looked back he saw that were the trees’ thinner branches. He swirled around, the sword cutting those things and when he returned to his initial position he saw creepy things coming at him. Could they be ghosts? He made an ice cannon and fired.

The ice balls went through those things that now had a humanoid form – even if they were still linked to the mirror by a phantasmagorical thread. The ice balls had crossed those things which meant that they weren’t real and couldn’t hurt him, right? Something told him things wouldn’t be so easy. The trees’ branches were twining on his arms and grass ropes were reinforcing this, helping keeping his arms apart. And the ghosts were closer and closer. He couldn’t escape and his strength was starting to leave him, he noticed through the panic haze that was starting to settle.

But any thoughts that could be crossing his mind disappeared at the contact of the first phantasmagorical hand with his body. It touched his leg and a cold so deep like he had never known – and that was something considering that he was an ice mage – burned his leg and started spreading at the same time that a piercing pain coursed through his body. This process was repeated several times as the ghosts encircled him, making the cold spread to his core. He had to be screaming with the pain but he didn’t hear or felt anything other than the pain.

A small flame tried to fight back and break this ice that was spreading – a deadly ice – but was too small and didn’t have enough strength so the pinprick of warmth that suddenly appeared, disappeared as fast.

Gray couldn’t resist any more. He slouched into the branches and felt the phantasmagorical hands recede. He was fighting to remain awake and managed to open fractionally his eyes. The woman was standing in front of him, disentangling the bandana from her right wrist. She was saying something but he was so far gone, partially due to weakness, that he couldn’t do anything else but finally succumbing to the pain.

~^~

Some time later he awoke. Not the open the eyes and be able to feel how his body was or anything, just his consciousness was awake and hearing the conversations being held in half hushed voices.

“Do you have any idea of how fortunate we were? This is truly going to help us with things much faster. They will praise us ‘til the end of times…” Another irritated voice interrupted,

“Praise _you_ , you mean. You’re going to get all the credit as usual.”

“It is not my fault that they told us the plan had been anticipated and we arrived here after you had finished things.”

“Yeah, blame us for finishing the job and do the discovery…”

“It doesn’t matter now. Let’s go.”

‘Something’s been anticipated? What did he mean with that?’ Gray couldn’t end the thought, falling unconscious again.

~^~

Gray woke up again (more fully) with a pounding headache and his body felt like it had been used as a human punching bag. As he got his bearings more fully he felt he was tied up, hands on his back and he was in the back of a carriage of some sort with a large trunk. Oh right, he had been caught – he recalled.

Now other questions came. Where could they be taking him? Then something hit him. That strange feeling he had had during the party at Lesbos, now had an explanation.

These goons had been in collusion with some people of the village.

Now the other conversation made more sense as did the fact of how he was like this now. He had to do something but maybe laying low was the best course of action for now.

He moved slightly through the objects, covered by the tarpaulins, that were haphazardly discarded. He managed to see that outside, everything had a sandy colour.

That was when one of his captors noticed that he was awake and knocked him out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Unbetaed.


	10. Calidonis

Natsu, Happy and Lucy finally arrived at a south-eastern village that was near the sea, Calidonis. Night was falling so they had to find a place to spend the night. They stopped outside the train’s station (Natsu extremely pumped up since he was no longer in a moving carriage) and looked around. Despite the end of the day, the village still bustled with movement. Large crowds continued to move through the bazaars, trying to finish businesses or just people purchasing their night meals. Natsu looked at Lucy who was staring avidly at a sign in the front of a green building that, discreetly, seemed to be a store of magical artefacts. ‘I just hope she won’t drag me with her…’ Natsu had just thought that when he felt a vice-like hand close on his forearm and pulled at him, making Natsu lose his step and nearly fall to the ground. Thankfully Lucy’s momentum helped him regain his balance and stop in front of the partially hidden door. They stopped and Lucy knocked on the door. It opened and an old man that was small and thin looked at them.

“This is the Formias store, isn’t it?” Lucy asked. The old man acquiesced and looked at her analytically. “Yes, it is. I’m Laertes, the owner of the store.” He walked further into the store, motioning for them to follow and close the door. He came to a halt behind the counter. “How may I help you?”

Lucy was looking dazedly to a glass box behind Laertes’ head. He noticed this and smiled. “So, you’re a Celestial Mage. Would you like to see the keys in our store?”

Lucy nodded excitedly, “Yes, please. I heard that this was one of the most acknowledged stores from the East.” When the glass box was in front of her she couldn’t help but let out a tiny squeal. “I can’t believe that you have this key…” The old man gave her a lopsided smile. “I see you have good taste. This was a tough one to find…” Lucy’s enthusiasm faltered, it seemed that the price might be too high. “However I sense that you’ll be in great need. I’ll sell you the key for 2500 jewels.” Lucy cringed a little. ‘Here goes part of my pay from the other mission. I’m going to be poor again!’ She sobbed internally while outside she gave a contemplative stare. She nodded finally, with a heartfelt sigh. Laertes opened the box and allowed Lucy to get the key. She looked at it. Maybe she was making a mistake… but another part of her wanted to see how Natsu would react. She lay the key on the counter and promptly paid the shop’s owner (with an internal wail of sadness) and grabbed the key, putting it in her bag. She turned to see the troubles in which Natsu and Happy had certainly gotten themselves into. And she was not disappointed.

Lucy had to stifle a laugh when she saw Happy upside-down and his body tangled in a purple rope that was getting more tangled with each movement the cat did. And Natsu. He was sitting on the floor, his left foot inside a tube that was connected to his right arm. The tube had merry colours and with each pull Natsu gave to free himself, the tube would tighten on his arm and leg and more strange powders would come out from it and lay on his hair, face and body. Natsu had a look of intense focus on his sprinkled face. It was weird because around his left eye was a big red blob, across his nose was blue and on the right cheek was brown. And his hair! His pink locks were dirtied with the most fluorescent green imaginable. Laertes muttered something about costumers that didn’t know anything about magic objects and was quickly heading towards them to release them. Lucy grumbled under her breath. Another thing for her to pay. Natsu was so in trouble when they left the store. She mentally prepared her lecture as she apologetically paid the man, grabbed both her friends and left the store before they could destroy it. Natsu was whining a little. Lucy stopped, looked around and as they weren’t yet in the main street she turned to Natsu. Her smile was so creepy and she was emanating _scary_ Erza vibes.

Happy promptly tried to run for cover but she was too fast for him, grabbing him by the tail. Natsu gave a small step back, his arms shooting up into a calming manner. “Sorry, sorry! We won’t do it again – “

“Of course you won’t do anything. ‘cause if I have to pay for your idiocies again today, something very bad, very vicious, is going to happen to you.” She said it in her most sepulchral voice, while shaking the fist with Happy’s tail. “Am I clear?” she asked, her hands on her hips. Natsu and Happy were both nodding vehemently and saying “Sure.”, “You can count on us.” and other phrases in those lines. When Lucy was happy with their answers she let the terrifying aura that was surrounding them fall and, with a smile on her face, headed towards the main street leaving both her friends gulping.

“Na-Natsu… sometimes Lucy is scary. Much scarier than Erza…” Natsu grabbed him and put his backpack on his back. He sighed, “We better behave for the rest of the day…” and quickly followed after Lucy.

~^~

They had found a room in a cosy Inn. Lucy was still ranting for having to share a room due to their financial situation. Now and then she would throw dirty looks at Natsu, who thanked the gods that looks couldn’t kill – otherwise he would’ve been a pile of undefined goo for several hours. They called room service and Lucy, to punish Natsu, only allowed him to order five dishes. Natsu complained, of course, but dropped the matter when she gave him the scary look. They were sitting at the table and Lucy had the book on her side. She was reading and sometimes she scribbled some notes on the notepad. She opened a map of the village and started drawing circles and crosses over some points. Natsu looked interestedly. He put his finger over the symbol of a temple, one of the first, coming from the new part of town, after the end of the main road. Actually, they had seen the big building from afar.

“Are you sure they won’t bring the desert cart and let us eat it?” Lucy nearly fell from the chair while Happy landed with his face on his bowl of milk. A slight twitch appeared on Lucy’s forehead. “I’m positive Natsu. And what were you going to ask…?”

“Oh, right. You know how I am when I’m hungry, hehe.” He scratched the back of his head sheepishly. “Anyway, I was going to say that most of those places you signalled with a circle tend to be temples or places related with religion. Do you think it may be a lead? Do you see how the further into the desert you get the more circles you have?” Lucy tapped the pen to her lower lip. “Maybe you’re right. I was so busy trying to get this in a logical order that I completely forgot about the interpretation and hidden meanings.”

“Meh. So you see that I can do more than destroying half a town by myself…” he gave her a toothy grin. Lucy just rolled her eyes. “Yes, Natsu. Now tell me the names, starting from –“ she pointed “here.” And they started working.

~^~

Gray was in his cell, back against the wall and facing the door. The room was dimly lit – only the flickering light from torches outside and a small window near the ceiling let some light enter. But now, probably because night was coming, only the light of the torches existed. Gray rested his head on his knees. He was in an uncomfortable position.

They had arrived to this place the previous night and he had been tossed into this dark cell right after passing through some kind of weird evaluation. And now here he was, in the dark. His shirt had been ripped from his body and his pants were tattered at the bottom (where they had pulled his boots). His feet were bare. Gray was sitting because no other position was possible, if he were to be minimally comfortable, that is. A metal bar with welded shackles was holding his feet and wrists separately, the hard metal digging into his wrists and making them bleed. He had no way to escape and that was the truth. While he was trying to find a way to escape – even if there was no hope he better exercise his mind because it could help, he never knew – his eyes landed on his left arm. Black lines had been painted there. ‘I wonder why they did this. What does it mean? Damn them!’ Gray’s body trembled with exhaustion. He let his head fall back and closed his eyes in a pained grimace. His whole body was throbbing and he was feeling much worse than before. Not being fed and being badly handled by his captors had ended in this. Usually he was much harder to break but now he was feeling so weak… but he was not going to let them see any weakness. Hell no!

Mirajane was right after all, he wasn’t fit to come to a mission like this – especially alone. He had let his pride and stubbornness get the better of him. ‘Damndamndamn…’ he cursed while he hit his head on the wall repeatedly. Steps interrupted his internal cursing. Someone was coming.

The door fell back noisily and a figure was outlined against the light (that was hurting Gray’s eyes making him close them). When the man entered Gray grumbled under his breath.

“So, pretty boy, did you reconsider?” he asked. Gray didn’t even deign to acknowledge his presence. This irked his captor who stomped heavy and viciously on his stomach then kicked Gray in his jaw. Gray couldn’t even try to protect himself, with both his arms and legs bound, so he opted by remaining unresponsive.

“I see…” The man grabbed him by the neck and with the help of the metal bar, he lifted Gray to his eye level. Gray was looking straight to the black pools of insanity and he was in both an unstable and an uncomfortable position. He forced himself, by sheer strength of will, not to flinch or give the man any satisfaction. “You won’t be so stubborn later,” he let go of his hold on Gray’s body, “but for now we’re done.” He turned around and exited the room, the door falling shut heavily behind him.

Only when the steps faded on the corridor did Gray let himself release his breath and cough at will. He had landed on his knees and hadn’t managed to sustain the momentum of his head knocking onto the ground. He manoeuvred his body to fall on his right side and from there tried to gather some strength to return to his original position. After too many tries for his taste and some awkward shuffling he was sitting once again. He tried to wipe some of the blood from his forehead on his pants. Soon small shocks of tiredness cursed his body and he felt on the brink of passing out.

‘What have I gotten myself into?’

~^~

Hours had passed by and although they hadn’t discovered the goal – yet – strange forms and some pieces of this strange puzzle had started to come together. By now, Natsu was lying sprawled in one of the beds while Lucy continued to insist.

“Lucy, I’m bored…” She turned her eyes from the page she was reading. Leaning back on the chair and stretching she said. “What else can we do now? Ah! I almost forgot. I could use a break to sign the contract with my new key.” She got up from the chair and rummaged through her bag. Natsu propped himself on one arm, looking mildly interested while Happy sat on Natsu’s stomach, also observing. Lucy started invoking the spirit. A flash of light appeared and a cloud of smoke was enveloping a small form. When the smoke dissipated Natsu sat on the bed suddenly, dislodging Happy from his perch. Happy looked inquiringly at Natsu only to see that he was standing frozen with his mouth open.

“L-Lucy! That-that-that’s a dragon!” his voice cracked slightly. She beamed at him, extremely pleased. “Didn’t I say anything in the shop? This is Draco, of the Dragon constellation. He’s an extremely rare key to be found. And its rarity grew since the incident you told me about. In case you didn’t notice, I’ve been informing myself.” She winked. The small purple dragon was flapping his wings wildly, hovering in front of Lucy and waiting for the conversation to be over with so that they could formalize their contract. Lucy turned to him. “So, Draco, let’s revise the terms of the contract and see if both parts are satisfied.” She kneeled on the floor and a notebook materialized in front of her. “In which days can I count with you?”

The dragon answered in a gravelly and hushed voice that neither Natsu nor Happy could hear. But, given Natsu’s astonished state it wasn’t such a strange thing to happen. The pair in front of them ended the conversation and after disappearance of the dragon and the notepad, Lucy turned at them cheerfully.

“That settles it. I think we already found all we could today. We should call it a night. Are we going to bed now?”

A slow nod was her answer, so Lucy grabbed her nécessaire and nightclothes and closed the bathroom door. Now Happy was on Natsu’s knee trying to snap the other out of this daze. Natsu slapped the cat’s paw from his forehead and looked at the door. There were still dragons. Sure, they weren’t the kinds of dragons he knew but _dragons_ nonetheless. He might get some answers from the spirit. Finally something good, a clue to this mystery that consumed a substantial part of his, was coming out of this strange mission! Lucy re-entered the room on her pajamas. “Hurry up. We should get some sleep that I have the feeling that tomorrow’s going to be a long day.” She said as she slipped under the sheet.

He waved at her and quickly went through his nightly ablutions. He lay in bed and before letting sleep take him, a small smile crept to his lips, ‘Maybe things are finally composing themselves…’

~^~

Morning came and with it the bright sun. When a strip of light came across Natsu’s eyes, he turned to the other side and cursed the Inn for having such weak blinds and the sun to be up so early. Then his conscience urged him to get up. This wasn’t how he usually reacted to a new day but some instinct told him that he better stay in bed. His conscience, however, kept trying to rouse him. The later they started their investigation the more heat they were going to get. Not that it bothered him much but Lucy was another two cents, always whining and complaining. And in this arid area the heat wave was going to hit them much stronger. He got up and shook Lucy’s shoulder. She was so into her dream that her hand shot up and slapped Natsu. In the precise moment her hand connected her eyes shot open, she sat on the bed, apologizing  profusely. This was not the most usual way to start a day…

They took a while to get things running but they were finally outside.

It was only ten in the morning but the heat was already stifling. They wandered through the bazaars in the main street until they saw the change of landscape. The day before it had only been seen from afar but now they could clearly see the boundary that divided both parts. Where before were buildings with curve and sometimes weird, fashionable lines in the architecture and a palette of bright colours mixed with the luscious green of the vegetation now a brownish yellow and plain grey took their place. This was it. They were entering the old part of the village where the severity of the stone and rigid lines predominated, a ruthless world in which only the fittest survived. They looked at each other then Lucy gave a tiny nod. “We should head to that temple we talked of yesterday.” They started walking, crossing large abandoned housing areas that, despite the lack of water and other essential commodities, were extremely well preserved. “I bet you could still use those houses.” Lucy muttered behind Natsu. Ahead they got to a large alley lined with large stone pillars, with a dark temple at the end. They crossed the alley, always alert and finally got to the threshold where they stopped, hesitating.

The place looked deserted. They entered and looked at the walls and columns, they were magnificent and majestic, portraying several events from the deity’s life and that were, amazingly well preserved. Lucy grabbed a piece of paper from her bag and read quietly, “This is the temple of Gaia. I had no idea they still kept the cults active since this part of the town has been deserted…” She frowned slightly when she noticed the fresh offerings in a darkened altar. “Look, someone’s been here recently.”

“What’s so unusual about people coming to the temples to follow their faith? It’s up to them how to live their lives.” Natsu shrugged, walking to the altar.

“But there’s something that’s not right…”

“I know. I can fell it too. Hey, look. A chest. Maybe there’s something useful.”

“Natsu! You’re not thinking of desecrating this place…” she asked anxiously while he knelt and with a flaming fist melted the lock. Lucy was partially afraid but curiosity got the best of her and she got closer to her friend. She barely noticed Natsu put something on his bag. Her hand gripped on his shoulder, squeezing tightly. “What do you think you’re doing?”

“But Lucy, it was so shiny…” He whined and tried to do cute puppy eyes.

“Don’t you think you’ve already done enough? You have to put things bac –“

A voice called from behind them, coming from a dark alcove nearby. A blast of air was shot towards them but Natsu managed to avoid it by throwing one of the offerings’ bowls. They saw how it the blast of air sliced it. If it weren’t for Natsu’s quick reflexes at grabbing Lucy by the waist and Happy by the tail and then duck for cover, it would’ve been one of them.

“Run!” At this command they ran all as fast they could to the entrance, while trying to hinder the enemies’ way. Lucy had her whip and, with some effort, had lifted some hidden benches and thrown them. This worked as a distraction as Natsu was taking down one of the pillars. Lucy and Happy ran from the entrance when the pillar fell with an ominous sound, destroying the front of the temple and rising compact clouds of sand. Yep, this was how things were done in Fairy Tail – the downside to this method was that the noise must’ve alerted the enemies that were nearby. Natsu smiled. ‘Let them come! The more, the merrier…’

~^~

The attackers came in successive waves and the group did find a way to push them back but due to the very unequal numeric proportions they started wearing of. And when the _heavy artillery_ arrived things took an accentuated turn for the worse.

The housing complex they had passed before was now almost completely destroyed, piles of rubble in the middle of a dense sand cloud. Natsu, Lucy and Happy were there with their mouths and noses covered. They shared uneasy stares (when they managed to see each other through the sand) – they could feel that they were getting to the end of the line, after all, separated and only counting on their wits and wiles could only take them so far. Natsu was hiding behind what once had been a wall when he heard the voices.

“I don’t know why I’m still stuck with you when we all know your magic is useless in this climate.” A female voice was heard.

“Hey! Orders are orders. And what do you think I am? A one trick pony?” Answered a male voice.

“All I know is that I keep babysitting you.”

“Don’t you say that again! Just take them to the newer part of town and see what I can do…”

Natsu had been following closely the conversation and their movements so he reacted too late to his inner alarms.

The sound of bodies falling to the ground registered very far away and time seemed to slow when he saw a floating blob of a sickly colour lunging at him. It hit him on his neck and the instant shock knocked him out.

~^~

When Natsu regains conscience and opens his eyes he notices that they are inside yet another temple. Maybe they’re in the main temple, considering the greatness of the place – both in size and magnificence of the ornaments. Through the high windows he notices that it is already night-time. Turning his head to the left he sees Lucy’s slumped form, her eyes are open but not completely aware yet. He feels his arms bound behind his back in metallic shackles and with some discreet movement he sees that his legs are tied with rope. He smirks inwardly. It’s a good thing that they underestimated him because he can burn the rope in no time. He tries to get up and after some undignified attempts, under the intense scrutiny of the guards, he is finally kneeling and seeing beyond the bodies of their guards. He urges Lucy to do the same and she glares at him while trying to get up. Natsu looks from her to the ceiling (where he sees Happy gagged and tied upside down on a high column) and to the people.

As far as he could see the temple had a lot of people – and in the enormity of the temple that means really a _lot_ of people. He can distinguish several groups by the colour of their cloaks. Everybody in the temple (excluding himself and Lucy) was wearing a cloak, a large cloak that hid the body’s contours. And apparently the colour had something to do with the function that the person had to perform. The faces were half covered by masks that had bright colours and some portrayed animals.

Suddenly silence fell on the room. Something was about to happen.

An air of expectation grew and the excitement that was growing was almost palpable.

The silence was broken by a voice, well known by Natsu, that rang loud and clear. “Let me go!” The voice was very discontent and promising a slow and painful death.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Unbetaed.


	11. Typhon

‘No, it can’t be.’ Natsu tried to take a glimpse from the cloaked bodies that were in front of him. He noticed how Lucy was doing the same and they shared a shocked stare. With the shock Natsu can’t help but notice that Lucy still has her keys (he can see their shape under the top) and he thanks the deities that she only used her whip during their prior confrontation. They continue to try to look and their eyes finally fall upon what they expect to see. Well, not exactly the way they expected it but it is Gray. He’s being dragged up the aisle towards the centre of the temple.

Looking closely Natsu sees that Gray is dressed in a white, tunic perhaps?, (and he wonders how they managed to keep it on his body but the fact that he’s being manhandled may have something to do with it) and he still has his trademark pants, even if they are in a pitiful state. His feet are bare. Absently he thinks that it may be to preserve the purity of the temple but quickly drops that idea, after all, he has his shoes and so do the guards in front of him. These thoughts are broken when he truly assesses the state of his friend. He notices the bruises on his body. The left side of his face has a large bruise and in his forehead there’s a dark substance that suspiciously looks like blood. Natsu’s blood starts to boil and the more his eyes sweep over his friend’s body the more he sees red. He tries to force the shackles and his arms jerk forcefully over when he notices the bruises and gashes on his torso and black (the white cloth is quite flimsy and doesn’t hide much). He stops his movements at the rustling of the brown robes of the guards in front of him, looking suspiciously at him. They wave some maces threateningly and Natsu calms down tensely. He can’t see well from his vantage point, in the left side of the temple in an alcove and they’re surrounded by six guards in dark brown cloaks.

They watch as Gray and the guards get to a stop in front of what looked like an altar, Gray meekly struggling and trying to break free. Natsu sadly notices how defeated his friend is despite his struggles, how they are just an act. The guards forced him to lie on the floor where they locked his arms and legs in manacles in a metal similar to the one that locked Natsu’s handcuffs.

The main speaker presented himself, Tamiris, and with these words the assembly calmed until only minor shushing noises were heard. When the conditions got reunited he started a litany of words that silenced the whole room that were promptly repeated. A green light appears and engulfs the inside of the temple, while a flickering circle surrounds them and mists rise from the ground. An orangish coloration appears in the ends of the circle as the ritual continues and a new set of words is said.

Then the orange reaches Gray.

When an orange mist gets to Gray’s prostrate form it motions in a manner that appears to be pulling something from him. A white light emanates weakly from Gray’s chest while the orange is now stronger. That’s when Gray starts pulling at his biddings and screaming in pain. Natsu has no idea of what’s happening – he only knows that these screams chill him to the core.

The pull of the white mist continues and Gray’s struggles are weakening until it reaches to a point in which he doesn’t move of say a thing. Natsu looks at Lucy who has a line of blood flowing from her lip where she bit it and she has her eyes closed and sweat is dripping down her face. She doesn’t seem to be faring well to the torture of their friend that they’re being forced to witness. Natsu’s not much better but a cold rage has set in the pit of his stomach. Oh, he’s going to find a way to destroy this all and make these people pay for hurting Gray!

In the middle of the ritual, unnoticed to all, a subtle line of pink rises amidst the white. When this last streak that emanates from Gray reaches the spiralling silver container, Tamiris stops the ritual when nothing happens. He raises his arms to silence the temple, where a nervous hum had started. Tamiris, sided by two acolytes approaches the vessel. He steps back with an audible gasp. The hum in the temple returns. Tamiris, infuriated, silences the room again.

He turns to one of his acolytes, “I thought I expressly requested a pure aura…” he seethes coldly and the first circle that’s surrounding him takes a step back.

“We-we thought that this mage reunited the conditions-“

“A-and we had no way to confirm. From our preliminary analysis he was a perfect and strong candidate.” Panic was rising in the immediate circle.

“He can’t be the only one.” Said Tamiris.

“This is the only ice mage strong enough to endure the ritual. And his aura was pure.” A braver acolyte retorted.

Tamiris turned from the central area, his cloak snapping behind him. He receded to a small table that had an open book in it. He flicked nervously through some pages and rasped, “We have to remain calm. Don’t show them that we’re losing control of the situation.” He came to a stop. Then straightened and with a serious expression said, “We’ll have to resort to plan B. Bring the relics of the Moirae.”

~^~

On his side, Natsu had scooted closer to Lucy, as if to comfort her about the torture they were witnessing. With some squirming and a well-covered squeak he managed to grab her keys and give them to Lucy. She doesn’t think twice and promptly invokes Taurus. The effect of her magic was not unnoticed by the guards that threw themselves at them, separating Natsu and Lucy. The guards grabbed their maces and charged to Taurus. He, instead of making perverted comments, twirled his axe, creating a safe circle. He retreated for a few seconds to cut the magic shackles that were still bounding Lucy’s wrists. When she got up she quickly grabbed a discarded mace from the floor. It wasn’t her weapon of choice (she tried to see where was the guard that she knew that had her whip) but anyone could kick some asses if enough motivated – and she _was_ motivated.

She motioned at Taurus to get to where Natsu was, surrounded by guards and being beaten. Slowly, but extremely slowly, they managed to get to Natsu and pull him so that he was on his feet, the binding cut by Taurus.

In the middle of the momentary struggle Lucy saw the guard and all but threw herself at him despite the panicked shouts from Taurus who tried to get to her. When her hand got to the familiar handle she gave an expert twist with the wrist and in no time the whip was flying and snapping angrily. Now Lucy felt that she could face anything, with her trusty whip, keys and hidden pockets on the belt.

She looked coldly around then a slightly uncharacteristic thought crossed her mind, ‘So many people, so many asses to be kicked…’ she noticed what she had just thought, ‘Oh great, the habits from the guys from the Guild are rubbing off on me…’ she thought with an exasperated roll of eyes.

Then she didn’t have much time to think of other things but the enemies that were growing by the minute.

~^~

When Natsu’s hands were released he quickly got rid of the remaining bindings. His wrists finally rid of the pieces of magic enabler material, he could now release his fury and frustration.

‘How could they? How dare they lay a finger on Gray?’ Maybe this had been the reason for his occasional queasiness during the last days – it hadn’t been all because of the train after all.

His rage was bubbling right under the surface and he just had to let it go to wipe these persons from the place where he was standing and the centre of the temple – where Gray was – that was where he wanted to be. He started moving, and that wasn’t exactly an easy task with the number of bodies between him and the altar.

~^~

Tamiris had returned to his former place, by the altar, and had one of his acolytes holding the book for him. He was reading the complicated diagram and doing exuberant hand gestures, as if it helped something. The orange glow, by now, had enveloped Gray’s whole body that was a couple of centimetres off the floor, his hands and feet not allowing the body to go very far.

From another hidden alcove Harpocrates appeared. He was looking livid, worse than usual and a bad feeling fell upon Tamiris. He turned and went near him. “What’s going on? I thought I had ordered you to bring the-“ he was hissing at the youngster whose face looked even more emaciated than usual.

“Astargatis… she… she...” he couldn’t finish the sentence. The speaker grabbed him by the shoulders and gave a little shake. “What? She what? I command you to speak up, right now!” The hands were clawing on Harpocrates’ skeletal shoulders making his face fall in a worse grimace. “She d-disappeared…”

Tamiris’ eyebrow rose behind the mask. “Don’t tell me that you’re like that just because she’s missing at the moment. She’ll be back. She is always…” he was interrupted by his interlocutor’s frantic headshake. “You’re not understanding.” Tamiris’ hands released Harpocrates’ shoulders abruptly. “I thought I had given precise orders to be followed.” His voice was tight with fury. “Where are the relics I demanded?”

Harpocrates, after steadying himself, gulped and fearfully answered. “That is the problem…” The feral look that Tamiris shot him made him recoil. “What?” Harpocrates gulped and in a tiny voice answered, “Apparently she took with her both the sacred bowl and spindle. They disappeared from their respective temples. And in the meanwhile I sent people to Gaia’s temple.” He falls back a step as if he had been physically hit by the speaker who’s trying hard to contain his wrath.

Behind them the orange light is beginning to get more wild as it is not only enveloping Gray’s body but tendrils are growing and spreading towards the mass of people, touching them and making them fall to the floor like flies, completely void of energy.

When the tendrils reach towards Natsu and try to touch him they’re unable as Natsu’s flaming aura is surrounding and protecting him.

Someplace behind Natsu, Lucy has released Happy and summoned Draco who is also protecting them with his flames. They are standing tall and proud and trying to get to their friend.

In the altar Gray has regained some consciousness and is mentally begging to be out again, as the pain has escalated to levels never felt before. Well, if he could think rationally he could comprehend that something trying to steal his magical core with tendrils of light while assaulting his body through that line that had been painted in his left arm, he would understand that it would be a painful act. But, as he is so out of his mind, nothing comes through. In the recesses of his mind, as fleeting it is, the comparison with those phantasmagorical things that had defeated him before is made. He had thought that that was painful – he had no idea of what pain was! Then, the feeling of only pain dissolves a little and he feels other thing. It feels like his body is being probed, leaving him with a sense of uncleanness and impurity in that slight part of him that still thinks somewhat clearly. A voice seems to whisper in Gray’s ear gleefully, remarking how delicious his core is, how things will end up and how this is going to tip the magical balance. The repulsive orange light surrounds him inside and out, is mind is being attacked and Gray can only try to deflect the blows and try to find a way out of this, because he can’t die here. No, he can’t, he won’t…

Panic courses through him, he has no escape, everything’s closing on him and he is trapped both physical and mentally. The orange keeps consuming him and in the moment in which Gray lost all hope against this creature that has its claws and tail around his body, enveloping him, something blossoms from his chest. It’s a strange, barely known feeling that gives him hope and that impeaches the creature of fully consuming Gray, stopping the plan. Not happy with being interrupted, the monster screams and attacks, intent on destroying the soul that dared to rebel.

~^~

Behind a large pillar Harpocrates and Tamiris are talking, being shielded from the orange light that now is covering the room and from the big mass covered with mist that was appearing in the dark area behind the altar. Unnoticed to all was the fact that the silver container had disappeared. The conversation between the two men was escalating into a heated argument.

“How could you let this happen? We ordered you to survey the newcomers for any misstep.” Tamiris was growling above the noise that was growing in the temple. “I did survey them.  There was nothing and whenever they were left alone there was always someone to look out for them. I may be treated like a child but I am no such thing!” Harpocrates hissed frenetically.

“Then tell me how this happened. How we ended like this. Because in case you haven’t noticed, we have no control over the rest of the ritual.”

“It is _not_ my fault that Astargatis had an agenda of her own.” Harpocrates reached out and took the mask from his interlocutor’s face. Now he could look him in the eyes and say things to his heart’s content, “Besides, the fact that the relics were stolen that easily shows how well you thought things up. Have you ever heard of guards and of hiding things in a secluded place?” Harpocrates was not happy with the fact that all the blames were going to fall upon him.

“The relics were secured. And mind how you address me. I am still your superior!”

“For all I care you could be the personification of one of these deities. If I fall, you will fall with me…” Harpocrates menaced seriously.

“We’ll talk about that later. Now we have to regain some semblance of control. Look how they are falling. The only way to channel the impurity of a soul was with the relics.” He stopped momentarily to let another bout of rage fill him, “How did the mage you got end up being tainted? I thought you had said he was one of the strongest. And no strong mage has an aura like this with just a wisp of taint.” Mumbling to himself he added, “Something strange is going on with him…”

Harpocrates almost didn’t hear as he was shaking his head distractedly, looking at the chaos in the room.

The civilians that hadn’t been touched and were still coherent had backed up to the other end of the temple where they had huddled up and were trying to be as small as possible, crouching on the floor. Many of the guards that hadn’t been touched had fled to secret passageways and some were behind Lucy and the protection provided by Draco, cowering.

Tamiris huffed and headed to his previous place and, strangely, the light that touched him allowed him to pass unscathed. When he got to his position he lifted his arms and started yet another string of words, in a monotone that got highly repetitive.

The light and mists around Gray’s body seemed to be compressing around him and angry growls seemed to be erupting from it.

Natsu tried to walk into that light and reach out at Gray’s body but orange tentacles made of light sprang towards him in that precise moment. Reacting, Natsu quickly plunges his hand into his pouch and holding a scissor snips the tentacles that fall to the floor inertly and disappear soon after. Natsu evades Tamiris who had lunged at him with a cry that looked like “The relic!” and with his free hand grabs him by the cloak and gives a strong pull. When the other, unbalanced, is coming in his direction, Natsu punches him into the far wall where he sees the body slump to the floor and stay unresponsive. Natsu realizes that he must be unconscious.

‘Good.’ The mean thought quickly passes through his mind but any vindictive thoughts are erased to more pressing matters, or should he say, concerns? He hopes that he can do something for Gray but then he notices how the orange light is no longer spread in every direction or around Gray’s body. Despite the speaker being out cold, by some reason the ritual has continued and by the looks of things has been completed.

Natsu looks at the immense figure that is standing in the darkness at the back of the temple – a place where, he can’t help but notice, the ceiling is higher. The figure looked like a lizard, with a body covered by scales and with wings on the back that had a metallic tinge and from somewhere on the back nine serpent-like heads sprouted. The beast had no hinder legs but large tentacles were spread in strange dispositions. Apparently the beast had no control over his bottom part. The arms were hideous, long and with claw-like hands. Many sets of red eyes were looking into the main body of the temple. Soon, mouths were spitting fire and enhancing the chaos. One of the heads shot a beacon of orange light to Gray’s body, which started being pulled towards the monster. After some unsuccessful pulls (because his legs and arms were bound) the light disintegrated whatever that was in contact with Gray’s body and Gray rose and was absorbed into the monster’s body, now resting in what could be considered the “heart” of the beast.

Natsu couldn’t do anything, just watch and then curse as realization hits him.

If he manages to hurt the monster he’ll also end up hurting Gray and the fact that the monster has Gray’s body allows him to have control over the unbalance of magic.

Natsu runs over the tentacles and attacks here and there but the scales are so hard and he doesn’t want to hurt Gray so he knows that what he’s doing is useless. He ends up by getting beaten pretty badly by some of the serpent heads and tentacles that in the meanwhile awoke. He couldn’t even be unscathed by the fire that the monster throws at him, feeling it like any other person. He gets tossed to the floor. As he tries to get back to his feet he can hear Lucy screaming at him to “Hang in there!”

~^~

Lucy had watched hopelessly the events and she had had enough. She was not going to lose both her friends, one by being absorbed by a monster and the other by getting beaten by said monster while trying to rescue the other.

She let her bangs cover her eyes as she made a decision. She was going to get into a lot of trouble but it would be worth it. With a nod of her head she looked back at the men that before had been so arrogant and now looked like they could pass out in fear. Yes, she had to do this. Deftly, her hands reached into a secret pocket in the inside of her belt and she grabbed a vial and spreads a tiny amount of sprinkly dust over the palm of her hand. She orders Draco to fly to the front of the monster’s main head. She blows the dust that spreads, towards Draco who starts diving and spiralling around the head, zigzagging through the serpents’ heads, while the dragon’s skin is being covered with what appears to be some sort of shiny diamonds. Lucy smirks, “Now that we’ve set the stage even, Draco, freeze him!” she bellows.

Natsu looks at her shocked. He knew dragons and outside Ice Dragons no other dragon had the ability to freeze a foe. But under his own eyes he sees the tiny dragon gain more height and spit fire that comes out in the form of ice. The monster’s other heads try to melt the ice, unsuccessfully as the ice is as cold and sparkling as the stars in the sky.

Draco flies around it, freezing the beast and, as he is reaching to the tentacles, Natsu climbs up and gives his mightier punch at the place where Gray is still unconscious. The beast’s heart is beating, albeit slower, near Gray’s hip and Natsu with one hand, disgustedly, pulls Gray to his embrace. Gray seemingly reacts at the heat of his body and tries to snuggle into him. With Gray secured in his arms, Natsu looks at the pulsing muscle that his still connected to Gray so he reaches for it. He pulls it from Gray’s body and the vile liquid that tries to bathe them is quickly evaporated by Natsu’s blazing aura. When they get out of the capsule that enclosed Gray, the monster’s head is starting to make appalling noises. Happy flies and grabs Gray by an arm (he was still unconscious and naked) and flies (or rather drops) to where Lucy was.

Lucy by now is profusely sweating, the exertion of using Draco and her last trick proving to be too much. However she pushes on and Draco is on his second round, mindful not to freeze Natsu (not that he could because the celestial powder only attacks the evil) who is climbing the body and that is now head to head with the beast’s main head. The red eyes watch him from behind a thin but unbreakable layer of star ice. Natsu holds both is hands up and, jumping to create a momentum while invoking as much power as he can muster, lets his hands fall on the head and manages to break the ice and slice the monster from head to toe, unmindful of the gore that surrounds him or how the larger parts of the body fall and destroy the sides of the temple. Pieces of rock fall around them but both his friends and the remaining people on the temple (the majority had fled when they managed to force the doors open, with the exception of some guards) weren’t touched.

Natsu slowly walks to his friends, Gray still passed out on the floor and with a pained expression on his face, his body was now covered by a cloak, Lucy’s on her knees, Draco had already retreated to the spirit world, and she is on the verge of collapse. Happy is touching Gray’s forehead and looking worriedly from Natsu to Gray. Sitting on the floor tiredly, Natsu notices that he is the only one still capable of protecting them.

The guards are still looking shaken but some that are coming from the outside are looking evilly at them.

Suddenly cries and calls for help come from the outside where sounds of battle, of metal against metal, could be heard.

Then the entryway of the temple collapses as do some guards. The remaining throw themselves at the newcomer but amongst the cloud of dust only the sound of metal crashing onto metal is heard – louder this time – and more cries of pain. When the dust settles, a figure is standing. Natsu’s eyes widen.

The newcomer is none other than Erza.

“What the hell are you doing here?” she asks.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Unbetaed.


	12. Picking up pieces

Natsu was completely baffled. He even had to blink and rub his eyes (contributing to spread more gore over his face) to confirm that what he was seeing was true. Erza was standing in front of them looking intrigued and a bit confused.

“What are we doing here? What are _you_ doing here, that is the question.” Natsu’s mind caught what he had just said and he closed it with an audible click, feeling a little stupid. Erza shifted and her stance got a little more relaxed. She looked at her friends that looked terrible. It was a complete surprise that they had met her because, if she recalled correctly, Lucy, Natsu and Happy should be in Melpomonis and then she did a double take as she saw Gray. What was he doing here? He should be in Magnolia still recovering and getting in mock-fights with the people at the Guild. Only after he won some of those fights he would be ready (and allowed) to go on a mission – if that was what had happened… In all the missions they had had she had never seen the group in such bad shape. At Natsu’s suspicious stare she told her motive for being in this place, “I’m on a mission, an S-class mission in fact. I’m following a person and some leads placed her here but after that I lost her.” She crossed her arms in front of her. “And you? Care to explain why you’re here?” Natsu gave her a tired smile, “No idea. We were on our mission and due to a series of events we ended up in this village. Then we decided to be detectives and investigate, got abducted and ended up here where these guys” he signalled distractedly towards where Erza had come from, “were performing a ritual to bring that” he pointed to the opposite end of the almost completely destroyed temple, “to life. To do it they had Gray. No, I have no idea on how he ended up here.” he said quickly when Erza opened her mouth, “In the end, we rescued Gray, killed the monster, knocked out some guys and that basically sums it up.”

Erza stood stock still for a few moments trying to absorb the whole information that Natsu had said in one go. She looked around and sighed. From the bodies that littered the floor she wouldn’t get much information. “Hmm, we should take them to someplace so that they can rest. But I should get some information for my mission…” she said, pensively.

“Then you may find something with that guy over there. He was the main speaker and by the looks of it he must have all the info you need. However he doesn’t look like the type to spill important info easily.” Natsu motioned to the body that was still slumped against the wall.

“Help them getting ready. I’ll talk to the guy.” Erza marched to the wall where Tamiris was twitching and giving signs of regaining consciousness. He had barely lifted his head from the ground when a hand grabbed the collar of his cloak and hoisted him up until his feet didn’t touch the ground. “You are in charge of this, I assume…!” a pleasant female voice asked. Tamiris had to cough to clear his voice but he answered, “Yes. And you are…?” He let the question hang but soon it became clear that she was not going to answer, “What do you want?” he said while maintaining visual contact with the woman. “I am searching for a person, a woman to be more precise.”

“There are many women, sorry, can’t help you.”

Erza pushed the man to the wall, now holding him by the neck, “This woman has a distinctive trait, she was seen wearing a bandana in her wrist and has a sort of dish, some call it a mirror, for weapon.”

Tamiris instantly recognized the person but should he rat her out? Despite her betrayal? Suddenly the hand on his neck disappeared and he was sliding down the wall when a deafening noise and more dust surrounded him. He was no longer sliding down and what had stopped his fall were swords, dozens of swords were pining him by his clothes to the wall and if he did the most slight movement they would slice his skin. Then he felt a sword prickle his neck. He gulped and the tip of the sword broke his skin leaving a thin line of blood oozing down.

“I don’t have much patience, talk.” Erza said in a commanding voice.

“Alright, you’re looking for Astargatis but, tough luck, I have no idea about where she may be,” he stopped and remembered Harpocrates and his insubordination, “but I know someone that may have more information. He must be in one of the ante-rooms over there.” He gestured to the wall. “He may know more of her whereabouts.” His voice adopted a sly tone.

Erza noticed this and narrowed her eyes. She made a decision and knocked out the man and, stepping back, released the swords while seeing the man fall to the ground from where he didn’t move.

She rubbed her hands on her skirt, feeling a bit grossed out with the man and she went back to her friends. Lucy’s eyes were now open and alert even if she was looking dead tired but Erza didn’t fail to notice that Gray was still out cold, now having his head pillowed in one of Natsu’s legs.

“I’m going in, may have a lead. You better stay here. When I’m done we’ll go back to the village. Natsu, if anyone tries to mess with you, you know what to do.” At Natsu’s nod she turned in her heels and went to the wall. Equipping a giant hammer she swung it and teared the wall apart. When it crumbled entirely a sort of maze with many entrances came to sight.

‘A maze? Oh well, if I knock down all the walls I won’t be lost. A straight line it is so here we go.’ Wall after wall came down and under the mess Erza could notice signs of occupation of these rooms inside the maze but so far they had been all deserted. Then a rumble came from behind and she had time to see the walls coming back up. ‘What the –‘

She took a step back, realizing she was trapped. But how? In the dim light she couldn’t see much and the room looked pretty deserted. Then a voice came from somewhere in front of her, “What do you want?”

Erza frowned, what was wrong with these people and manners? She didn’t answer, deciding to walk towards the place where she thought he was instead. A rustling showed her that her interlocutor was moving. With a flash of light she equipped an armour that was both strong and light – which added some speed. Her blind charge proved correct when she connected with a body. But in the precise moment she got a hold of the other person a wall sprouted from the floor between them.

“The hell!” she gasped while jumping back. The other person was laughing.

“You may try but you won’t get me.” He taunted. Erza’s expression became much more annoyed, a cold look in her eyes and her lips curved downwards. ‘He is trying to annoy me and if I do any thoughtless movement he’ll raise a wall…’ she thought while equipping a large mace, ‘but he won’t be able to do anything if I manage to break down every single wall!’ With a powerful swing she hit the wall and destroyed it, dust and pieces of clay crumbling to the floor, locking gazes with her foe. He backed up and, with a gulp, noticed that his back had hit a wall.

“So, now you’re going to answer to all my questions…” said Erza in a deadly serious voice. When he motioned, still insisting, to escape she finally closed in and buried the sword in the wall, millimetres from his nose. Harpocrates gave up and fell to his knees.

“Now, as I was saying…”

~^~

When she returned to the main room of the temple, dragging Harpocrates by the cloak, her friends were still basically the same way as before, Lucy now much more awake. Erza raised an eyebrow at the small pile of bodies that weren’t there before.

“Okay guys, I think we got everything we could from here. We should get out of here and into a more comfortable place. Do you have a room here?” A soft cough signalled that Lucy was about to speak, “Yes, we have in the village.”

Erza nodded in confirmation. “Let’s go then.” She extended her hand and helped Lucy to stand up and saw her legs wobble slightly then she approached Natsu, Gray and Happy. With a sigh she hoisted Gray up (taking care to maintain him covered with the cloak) and holding him bridal-style she started walking towards the former entrance.

“Come on guys, before it gets too warm outside.” Behind Natsu was helping Lucy and Happy was hovering tiredly over their heads.

The group left the temple unmindful of the people scattered in the surroundings. Erza walked straight to the village while thinking about the new information she had collected and thinking about what might have happened so that her friends had been involved into this mess.

She had set a steady rhythm that the others shouldn’t have trouble following. They had crossed a large expanse of desertic landscape with occasional temples, statues or obelisks sighted far away and at odd times. After what looked like hours and felt even worse due to the temperature spiking, they entered the village by a different side but Natu and Lucy’s previous explorations served them well and in no time they were heading to the Inn. With a slight wave towards the reception desk, they quickly went to Natsu’s room. After carefully laying Gray on the bed, Erza was about to peel off the cloak and look at Gray’s injuries. Natsu stopped her by sinking into the bed and stilling her hand. “I’ll take care of him. It won’t be the first time, anyways…” he said in a tired voice.

Erza straightened, blinked and seemed to want to say something then closed her mouth and nodded. She went to Lucy, who was slumped in the chair by the table, and helped her up, pulling one arm over her shoulders and circling the other’s waist. She was almost dragging Lucy out the room while saying “Very well. Patch him up, take care of him and try to rest a bit, you’re not looking so good.” Then the door closed with a soft click.

Natsu sighed and wearily passed his hand through his hair. “Do you need help Natsu?” Happy’s voice pierced the silence of the room.

Natsu gave a crooked smile at the wall and got up from the bed. “No, thanks Happy. You can go to sleep that I’ve got it covered.” He said while circling the bed and lightly petting the cat’s head. The he went to the conjoined bathroom and returned with a bowl of water and a cloth. It would be better if Gray took a bath but for now a superficial clean-up would have to suffice. He neared the bed and cursed at having to be, once again, on this position. After all, it hadn’t been _that_ long since they had had that Spyroglals incident… and other things. With a frown he berated himself for letting his mind stray in this moment in which he had to focus. He placed the bowl in the bedside table and opened the cloak, leaving Gray’s form bare. He dipped the cloth on the bowl and gently started cleaning the majority of the dust, grime and – he grimaced – dried blood. Soon the water turned murky and he had to go to the bathroom to refill the bowl with clean water. He took the time to get also the medical kit. When he returned to Gray’s side, as he was handling him cautiously, he had to stop several times due to the shaking of his hands. He stopped at each time to breathe deeply and, with clenched teeth continued working. Oh, the rage that each and every one of the bruises that marred Gray’s body – and the semi-healed wounds from before – were making him boil with anger once again. One part of him wanted to go back to the temple and destroy it (even further) and beat each and every person that had been there and allowed this atrocity while other part wanted to shake Gray awake, yell at him for his stupidity and shackle him to a bed so that he had no option but to rest as he was supposed to. What ridiculous idea had crossed that mind of his to leave Magnolia? He was _so_ going to have an earful. And Natsu was perfectly conscious of how he could get once out of his mind. Gray was going to wish never wanting to accomplish whatever he had wanted to prove, Natsu was going to make sure of that.

But all that was for later. Now he had to dress the wounds and put him under the bed sheets. Muttering under his breath that he was getting too good at taking care of an injured Gray, Natsu finished bandaging his friend and lay him under the bed sheet – having a brief discussion with himself if he should dress him some undergarments, idea which he, with a roll of his eyes, discarded – and he threw the covers and cloak to the floor. Then Natsu stopped. Gray was settled and Happy was laying in the table. Natsu figured that he could give him a bit more of comfort so he balled the covers and put them on the table. Then he laid Happy over the makeshift bed.

Now tiredness was creeping in and the bed’s calls were getting louder. Natsu went to the bathroom where he got ready for bed, cleaning most of the gore from himself. Returning to the bedroom, he sat on the bed in the same place he had sat before and was going to turn off the room’s light source when his eyes focused on Gray’s collarbone, more precisely at the place where Natsu had bitten him before. The mark was bright red – which was a stark contrast with the other’s usual white skin. Natsu stilled for moments then decided that he should better worry with it later and turned off the light.

He let himself fall to the bed and throwing an arm over his eyes, his last thought was, ‘So, we’re back at this again, huh?’ before Gray’s peaceful breathing lulled him to oblivion.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Unbetaed.


	13. Waking Up

Gray woke up with a startled gasp. He was confused and couldn’t locate himself. He was in a dark room but strangely he didn’t feel on edge but amidst all the drowsiness and confusion he felt strangely empty. On the contrary, a sense of relaxation and safety surrounded him. Drowsily he shifted in the bed and even if his body hurt immensely he was free. He felt a bed sheet move around his lower body and a sudden shiver of cold made its way over his body. He trembled slightly while pulling the sheet to his chin. He returned to his side and sensed how warmth was coming from there. Slowly he got closer to it and snuggled into it, letting the warmth seep into him.

It didn’t take long until he was asleep again.

~^~

Morning either came too early or too late for Natsu. For him it didn’t matter exactly that due to the environment people would have different schedules. What mattered was that he was awake even if he was feeling tired and wanted to go back to sleep, his internal clock said that it was time to wake up and that was final!

With a tired groan he was about to get up and go to the blinds and try to fathom what time it was when he felt an unexpected weight on his chest and arm. ‘Gray’ he thought with what could be called rising alarm. He gulped. ‘Ok, it is time for us to have a small conversation but please, don’t make it today. I don’t think I can handle it now…’ he was praying feverously to whatever invisible forces that would listen, while carefully disentangling himself from the body of his friend. When he was free he sat on the bed and, through the darkness, couldn’t help but smile, relieved ‘I’m so glad we that we managed to save him…’ then he downside, ‘but I’m afraid of the repercussions, like this closeness that he unconsciously seeked, that this may have on the future.’

He slowly got up from the bed and, as silent as he could, he went to the window and pushed one of the blinds, opening just enough to bring the minimal clarity to the room. With the unexpected light Happy moved on his bed and moved sleep hazed eyes while stretching and mewling contently. Natsu got close to the table and sat on the chair. For some time they just looked at the peacefully slumbering form. After a while Natsu looked at Happy and in a low voice, said, “Come on, we all need a bath and you might as well be the first.” Happy looked at Natsu with pleading eyes. “Nooo, Natsu, please don’t. I don’t like baths… the soap…” he whined. Natsu gave an exasperated sigh and grabbed him by the scruff of the neck. “No can do. Come on. It’ll be quick.” He filled the sink with water and waited for Happy to hop on. Then he grabbed some soap he had brought from his bag and started washing Happy. They talked softly, not wanting their voices to wake Gray as Natsu had left the door open. When Happy was rinsed clean and wrapped in a fluffy towel they returned to the room. Natsu laid Happy in the bed near Gray. “I’ll be taking a quick shower. Call me if he wakes or something happens.” He returned to the bathroom and let a fraction of the door open, just in case. He laid the change of clothes in the counter of the sink, stripped and entered the bathtub. He washed himself quickly and was out of the bathroom in no time. During that time Gray hadn’t even moved.

It was time.

Natsu sat on the bed and, grabbing his shoulder gently, gave a little shake. Gray twitched a little so Natsu continued, “Gray, wake up.” He said softly. An incoherent mumble was his answer.

“Come on Gray. You have to get up before the girls arrive.” His voice was slightly stronger. Gray grabbed the bed sheets harder and his face scrunched up in a grimace before his unfocused eyes opened. He blinked them two, three times and met Natsu’s relieved grin.

“Hey. It’s about time you woke up.”

“Time? How… how long was I out?” said Gray, trying to sit up.

“Less than a day. You have to calm down that your body is weak. You were completely out cold.” Natsu answered while holding Gray’s back so that he wouldn’t strain too much. “I think you would feel better after taking a bath. Lay down that I’m going to fill the tub.” He helped him down carefully and hurried back to the bathroom.

Gray was left lying on his back. Happy hopped on his arm and this made Gray look at him.

“I’m glad you woke up. How do you feel?” he asked concernedly.

“Tired? Aching? I don’t know. What the hell happened?” Gray’s voice was very tired and he attempted to rub his eyes.

“I think you remember the ritual right?” Natsu was coming from the other room. Gray moved in what looked like acquiescence so he continued. “You almost got consumed – and killed – by the monster they summoned and we managed to save you.” An audible gulp could be heard in the room, “Then Erza appeared and-”Gray jumped on the bed and ended sitting on it, “E-Erza?!” his eyes were open wide and he looked like he had seen a ghost, sweat starting to go down his forehead.

‘I can’t believe I completely forgot about her. What if she tries to’ a shudder ran down his spine, ‘punish me? Yes, because I left for the mission and Mira tried to stop me. I don’t remember at all but they said that I just escaped a near death experience. It Erza does something I’m as good as dead!’ The edges of his vision started to go dark until Natsu’s voice broke in, “Gray! Hey Gray! You have to breathe or you’re going to faint.” Only when his hands did grab his shoulders and shake him did he manage to take a sharp intake of breath. He gulped too much air at once so moments later he was coughing and doubling over on the bed. Natsu patted him on the back and said, “Come on, the bath’s waiting.” He got up. Gray was about to follow him, lifting the sheet when he noticed something.

Quickly he covered himself with it. “Erm, Natsu, where’s my underwear?” he was blushing a little.

“Oh, right… I thought it would be rather pointless to put them on…? Given the circumstances…” Natsu was also blushing and averting his eyes. It was starting to become an uncomfortable conversation. “But it doesn’t matter, ‘cause you’re an exhibitionist and all, right?”

Gray’s gaze was focused on his hands on his lap while he answered. “… right… Well, now to the bath, right?”

“Yeah, let’s go. Can you move on your own?”

“That’s what we’re about to discover…” he said moving to the edge of the bed. Placing his feet on the floor he pushed up (always covered by the bed sheet) and managed to remain up for about 30 seconds before his legs gave in and he almost fell to the floor. Natsu promptly grabbed him and held him bridal style. “I guess not.” He said while walking to the bathroom. He sat Gray on the toilet while he finished the bath, pouring some medicinal soap in. “I hope the water’s how you like it.”

“Knowing you it will be too hot.” Gray mumbled.

Natsu hoisted him and helped him to the rim of the tub, when Gray plunged his hand on the water it quickly shot up. “Too hot?” Natsu asked while reaching to the faucets as Gray just nodded.

‘I should’ve thought better about this. I still have to unwrap the bandages.’ Natsu straightened and motioned to unwrap them while the cold water fell to the tub.

“I can do this on my own, you know?” Gray said as the bandages curled on the floor. “Treating me like I’m some sort of invalid…” he mumbled while he got to the bandages on the torso. As he had to move his upper body, a grimace settled on his face.

“Let me.” Natsu said exasperatedly his hands reaching to Gray, “Just let me do it. Don’t be so stubborn.” Gray looked at him defiantly then realized he wouldn’t win this argument and decided to plunge his hand on the now cooler water. “The water’s good” he said absently. Natsu threw the rest of the bandages to the floor and turned off the faucet. “How are we going to do this?”

“Don’t be such a prude. Just help me enter it.” He said while releasing the sheet. Natsu picked him and settled him inside the tub. A relaxed sigh left Gray’s lips.

“Alright, I’m going to let you soak in there for a bit, the healing proprieties of the soap need some time to work and in the meanwhile I’ll put some order on the room that the girls must be here soon. If you need something you just have to shout.” He left the room, leaving a bit of the door open.

Gray leaned his head back on the tub and closed his eyes, willing his body to relax – which thankfully was helped by the water. He tried to remember the previous day, night?, hell, the last time he was awake. He tried but not much came to him, mostly flashes that somehow evoked a foreign pain to course through him. What the hell had happened? How in the world were his friends here? It was too much to absorb because as much as he remembered, on a minute he was on the floor of a temple about to be sacrificed – to which pain followed – and in the other he was waking up on a room with Natsu on his side and feeling a dull, ache of emptiness within. There was something wrong with him, he could feel it! He started getting restless, the water sloshing around him and falling to the floor. He sat up, with a plan forming. He was going to make something with his magic. Losing some time to think about what he could produce helped him calm a bit. ‘I know. A sword. It’s easy and I’ve done swords several times.’ He focused and… the sword he created was small! It was more a dagger than a sword. With the shock he didn’t realize that he spoke aloud,

“No way!” his strained words reverberated in the room.

~^~

Natsu had finished giving some semblance of order to the room and was chitchatting calmly with Happy while fishing in his bag for something for Gray to wear. Sounds of the water moving could be heard on the background but he didn’t pay them attention as it must be Gray moving to get into a better position. Then the sounds stopped. Natsu had found spare clothes for Gray when he heard Gray say “No way!”, followed by the sound of something falling to the ground. He ran to the door and found Gray, on shock and one small sword on the tiled floor, melting. “What happened?” he asked, apprehension etched on his features.

“My… my magic… I can’t… I can’t…” Gray’s eyes were wide open and he was looking at his trembling hands. Natsu kneeled in front of him and closed his hands over his, trying to calm him down. “Gray, Gray, it’s okay. It’s all over now and you’re safe.” By now he was cupping Gray’s face with both his hands, hushing him, “Everything’s alright. You’re safe now…”

Gray was calming down, the gentle words and reassuring presence were relaxing him, his hands also relaxing from the rim of the tub where they had clenched.

“We have to finish your bath. All these questions that surely are going through your head have an answer and when the girls get here we’ll go there. For now, tip your head back ‘cause your hair is a mess.” Gray obliged and as Natsu massaged his scalp he could feel that something was in its rightful place.

With Natsu’s help he was quickly rinsed off and covered in a fluffy towel. Natsu sat him back on the toilet and with another towel (that he brought from the room with the clothes) he dried Gray’s hair and upper body. “What did I say about being treated like an invalid?” Gray pouted, his arms folded in his lap.

“Hadn’t we gotten over that already? There is no shame in helping an injured comrade, better yet, an injured friend. What do you think you are?” Natsu asked with a smirk – after all, if Gray could put up his attitude he must be better, right?

“Yeah, yeah. Do you have clothes for me? I have no idea where mine are…” Natsu had finished applying the balm and dressing the bandages so he just presented the pile of clothes then busied himself with other things such as the bathtub and dirty bandages, giving Gray some privacy while being at arm’s reach in case of need.

When they were done he helped Gray back to the room, now serving as a human crutch. He sat Gray against the headboard and sat himself at the foot of the bed.

“And now what do we do? I’m starting to get a little hungry.” The pout was back on his face.

“We have to wait for the girls. Lucy expressly forbade me from ordering room service. And now with Erza here, I won’t dare to disobey.” He finished with a shudder.

“So, wait it is.” Gray let his head fall back and closed his eyes. Happy lay down near his leg, offering silent comfort.

“Oh, and there’s something that I have to talk to you about.” Natsu was saying with a serious voice. He was interrupted by a knock on the door.

Gray opened his eyes in time to see Natsu glaring at the bedcover then sigh and run a hand through his hair as he got up to open the door.

“But I guess that’s not the time to talk about it.” He nodded at the door and opened it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Unbetaed.


	14. Point of the situation

Erza entered the room followed by Lucy. Both had concerned expressions on their faces that lifted a bit when they saw Gray awake and sitting on the bed. Behind them, Natsu closed the door silently.

“Gray, it’s good to see that you’re awake. Last time I saw you didn’t look so good.” Lucy spoke excitedly, coming to a stop on the bed, near Gray. He just nodded, dreading the reaction of the person that accompanied her. Erza’s face had an unreadable look as she walked to the table, grabbed the chair and, placing it near the bed, sat on it. Natsu just returned to his previous place at the foot of the bed.

The tension in the room was reaching to unbearable points when a small smile came to Erza’s lips.

All the bodies in the room sagged in relief and a collective sigh was nearly heard. That’s when Erza spoke up. “It’s a relief to see that you’re awake. You were all in bad shape last night…”

“Last night?” inquired Gray. He was still a bit shaken with the schedule thing.

Lucy got into explaining mode right away, “Yes, Erza is referring to the night of the ritual. We are in a zone that has a desertic climate so, due to the extreme heat, people adapted their lives somehow. You see, during the hours of more heat everything stops, the buildings are specially adapted to remain cold, or at least chilly compared to outside, during the hot hours and keep some warmth on the cold hours. The village is more active during the night.”

“That means that the nights for them are the equivalent to our days…”

“With some attenuating circumstances but, yes, you are correct.”

“Hm, it’s great to be talking about all that but it’s been some time since I last ate. Could we please get something to eat?” Gray asked and his stomach didn’t lose time in giving an agreeing growl.

“Food, yes please…” Natsu was bouncing slightly on the bed.

Lucy and Erza shared a glance and Lucy got up saying, “I’ll go ask if they can still do something for us.”

“What time is it, can’t the room service get us something?”

“I’m not sure because this is a small establishment and the time for the last meal has passed already while we were asleep. However I doubt that they will deny Lucy anything.”

“Yeah, especially if she turns on her charm skills.” Natsu said. Erza looked at him, an eyebrow arching up so Natsu hurried to add, “Not that there’s any problem with it…”

Erza got up and opened the blinds of both windows. On the outside a thin line of rosy-blue could be seen on the horizon and the glow coming from the bazaars at the end of the street illuminated the room, that despite the weak illumination they had set.  Erza leaned against the window and looked outside, watching regular people going on with their lives. Still looking outside she said, “Don’t worry that we have time to talk. About everything.”

Not long after Lucy entered the room and, sensing the heavy atmosphere she spoke, “ The food’s on the way. By the way, what are you wearing Gray?” she asked with a smile.

All the eyes in the room turned to Gray who blushed embarrassedly. “What’s wrong?” he stammered. It wasn’t _that_ big a deal. He had a pair of Natsu’s pants that were held by a belt (but he would never admit – not even under torture – that they were large on him) and on top, a large and old red shirt. He started fidgeting, grabbing the hem of the shirt and toying with it.

“Yeah, is there a problem?” Natsu was up, with his arms crossed over his chest.

“No, no, there’s nothing wrong. It’s just a bit strange to see Gray wearing that. It’s a lot different from his usual…” she said while waving her outstretched hands in front of her.

Erza continued standing by the window, now looking at the interactions between her friends. Happy had fled to her side and was watching them from the windowsill. Gray just shook his head and asked, “You know, if there is any problem I could always ask you to lend me some of your clothes…” the smirk was evident in his voice.

Lucy knew that she was being teased but didn’t help her from blushing like a tomato and shout, “As if!!”

Everybody ended up laughing hard.

When the momentary instant of insanity ended they were much more relaxed and made circumstance chitchat, not wanting to go to the heavy matters yet.

The food arrived and they placed the trays on the table and on the bed. They dug in with lots of appetite and the food, looking delicious also helped. So, three dishes of meat, a meat pie, a plate of fish, some bowls of salad, potatoes and a large bowl of fruit were quickly attacked. To drink they had a large jug of water filled to the brim. For some time the only sounds that resonated on the room were the sounds of them chewing the food but as the meal progressed the small talk returned.

When all the dishes were empty they laid the trays and pilled dishes on the table and seriousness returned to everybody’s faces.

“Alright, so now that everybody is fed and relaxed we can begin. Gray, could you tell me what are you doing here? And please, do not omit anything…” Erza demanded with one of her most serious demeanours – that was also one of the scariest.

Gray didn’t have any choice so he leaned back against the headboard, closed his eyes, opened them and started talking while looking at the ceiling. He told them everything, from the conversation with Mirajane to the development of the mission in Lesbos, the leader of the rebels, Aglaia, to his feeling of unease in the village. How he went to the monument, defeated a herd of opponents and had finally succumbed at the hands of two opponents, one that was called Harpocrates and controlled vegetal elements at will and the other was Astargatis, that used phantasmagorical things that she summoned from her mirror. She had been the worst, completely incapacitating him. Then he told them about pieces of the trip in which he had been awake and what he heard about what they were going to do with him. He spoke about the starvation and the terrible conditions he had sported in his cell. His final words were to the ritual where he had been laid on the floor and the pain that had followed. At that point Erza asked, “And it there anything that you remember through the pain?”

Gray’s face paled to the point where it looked like he might pass out. He gulped and changed position, now with his legs folded in front of him and his hands gripping tightly where his legs crossed. He closed his eyes and felt sweat – cold sweat – run down his back. A warm hand touched one of his and in that moment he felt the concern of his friends bring him back from that darkness. He cleared his throat and opened his eyes to face his friends. He looked straight at Natsu’s Fairy Tail symbol (as it was right in front of him) and, while focusing in it, words started coming out of his mouth, “I-I don’t remember it very well – or clearly for that matter, but in the middle of all that pain I heard a voice. It was taunting me, mocking my efforts and showing me images of what could happen when it got free. It got to a point in which I could feel it around me and I was fading. It was repulsing, just remembering it is making my stomach churn. I got to the point of giving up, surrendering to it and that was when something pulled me back, shielded me from being consumed. Don’t ask me what it was that I don’t have a clue.” He ended up running a hand over his forehead. “Oh, and it also said something about the balance of magic…?”

Erza just looked at him and nodded. “Well, that could give us something to begin with. I think there are strange things happening there and we don’t know the reasons for it.  We have to ask the Master.” She leaned back and crossed one leg over the other. “You deserved some punishment for going on a mission and not being ready but this has already been punishment enough.” She concluded, “And what about you?” she asked to the rest of her friends.

“On our part it started pretty easily. Our mission was to go to Melpomonis and find a cursed chest that we had to uncurse and return to the client.” Lucy began, giving Natsu a mild glare for other _related_ matters. “We found out where the chest was but discovered that in the middle of all the mess, it was related to a Dark Guild – the Cyclades Guild. We had to fight and there was a strange person that disappeared with something from the chest. We ended up retrieving a book. Oh, it’s in our room. I’ll go get it so you see what I mean.” Lucy hurried out of the room, leaving Natsu to continue with the report. “I faced a guy that used wool, too bad that it couldn’t resist the fire… but the cloaked figure that took that thing from the chest left it completely destroyed on the floor. And he managed to disappear from a room with just one entrance. And I didn’t see him pass me.” Lucy returned to the room and gave Erza the book. She flipped some pages, with her eyebrow lifted, stopped and resting the book on her lap said “This is some sort of log book. We have to give it to the Master and this way they’ll finally have the evidences to convict that Dark Guild. This is very good.” She closed the book. “Please, carry on…”

“Well, one of the last posts said something about one of the objects from the chest (presumably the thing that was taken) – a scissor to be exact – had to be here in Calidonis.” Lucy continued. She stopped when Natsu got up and went to his bags. “What are you doing?”

“Do you think that the scissor could be… this one?” he took it from the bag dramatically.

“Where did you find that?” Erza asked with her usual calm.

“When we got here we went to a temple and I found it there.”

“So that was the thing you took…”

“Well… yeah…” he said sheepishly. “But there was something I wanted to say. Gray, do you remember that guy with that lime-green hat from our mission with the scroll?” he saw Gray’s nod. “Well, guess who I saw who had had his ass kicked by Lucy.”

“Are you serious? How is that possible?” Gray was shocked.

“Natsu said he knew that face from somewhere. But those guys weren’t from that Guild, were they?”

“I don’t think so. I think they were from a Guild of Thieves. Maybe they were working together…”

“I don’t like the sound of that.” Said Erza “but for now you should continue your report.”

“Alright. Where was I…? So, we arrived here and Lucy went straight to a magic store. She bought the most amazing key.”

“Now that’s a rare sight, you praising Lucy’s keys.”

“Oh shut up, ice-bastard!”

“What did you say you flame-“

“Boys…” said Erza, her eyes glaring dangerously at them.

“Hm, right. As I was saying before being so rudely interrupted-“

“Natsu.”

“Okay! She bought a key that helped us a lot later on.” A smile plastered on his face while Lucy just blushed at being praised. She really had good taste – and luck. She continued. “After we found this Inn we went to the ancient part of the village, after taking a good look around the new part, of course. We went to a temple – where Natsu got the scissor – and soon after we were attacked. We warded off quite well but were defeated by strange flying things.”

“No, no. They were of a sickly green and had an ethereal glow. They were awful and attacked by the back.”

“Wait a second. You said they were a sickly green. Is there any chance that they had a thread – if you can call it that – coming from the back of their bodies?”

“Yeah, I think so. Then again, it was too quick to see or react so I’m not sure…”

“And was there nothing else?”

“I was listening to two voices, a male and a female. The guy seemed to be whining at her and she didn’t have much patience to him.”

“I bet that your attackers are the ones that knocked me out.” A small argument about the possibility and available evidences started until Erza stopped them, a deep scowl etched on her face. “What happened next?”

“We woke up in a huge temple – it was really massive. They were bringing Gray and laying him on the floor. They started with some weird chantics and some lights and smoke appeared.” Lucy answered unfazed by her hothead friends. “It was a ritual and an orange mist appeared and successfully pulled a white mist from Gray’s body. We could see and hear how Gray was suffering but unfortunately we couldn’t do anything.” She stopped and looked at Gray who was standing statue-like on her side. She tried to continue, to speak in an unemotional manner but found that she had a lump on her throat. Natsu continued for her, “Gray who had been trashing and struggling came to a point in which he stopped motioning. When the orange mist pulled all it could from Gray it reached out and started enveloping his body.” Natsu’s voice was fuelled by anger that grew when he noticed how tense Gray was becoming, the further they got into the events. “We had to do something so I passed Lucy her keys and that way we were released. I tried to get to Gray but that’s when I noticed the monster they had summoned. It was gigantic. But when Lucy used her new key – you won’t believe it, it’s so cool – that is a dragon-“ Gray and Erza looked at Lucy inquiringly, she confirmed, then back at Natsu who was bouncing excitedly on the bed. Then he sobered up. “I guess that the fire protected us. When I was getting to Gray again, some tentacles made of orange mists tried to get me but I used the scissor and it didn’t get to me. Then Gray was absorbed by the monster and Lucy made her dragon spit ice! A kind of sparkly ice but whatever. I got Gray from the monster’s body and-“

“Hey! You didn’t say anything about me. I contributed in the rescue of Gray too, you know?” Happy was pouting from the middle of the bed.

“I hadn’t forgotten about you-“

“It didn’t look like that, you know?”

“Fine, when I managed to get Gray out of the monster’s body Happy brought Gray back to where Lucy was, safely. Are you happy now?”

“More… Aye!” he said with a mischievous smile.

“Gah!” Natsu threw his hands in the air. “By the way, Gray, by now you were naked. Your clothes kind of disintegrated when the monster absorbed you. I bet you never thought of being an exhibitionist while unconscious…” his sorry attempt at a joke was not well received by his friends – if Lucy and Erza’s glares were of any indication. Gray just remained unresponsive for a bit before he started laughing. It was a mirthless laughter, more of a way to release tension but he was grateful to Natsu.

“I will try to maintain my exhibitionist tendencies just to when I’m awake but you should never try to be funny again. That was really terrible.” He said in-between laughs.

Lucy just rolled her eyes and ended, “After that Natsu killed the frozen beast and some guards began to bother us. That’s when Erza arrived.”

Gray had calmed enough from his fit of nervous laughter so he thought, ‘A lot of things happened and I don’t know what they mean. What if the ritual and the mists have something to do with my diminished magic…?’ he was looking at his hands when Erza started her part.

“I, in opposition to your missions gone crazy, just had one task – find the woman called Astargatis. So I’ve been following her leads for some time. I did pass Lesbos, the place where I presume that you got captured, met a strange guy along the way and we fought because he suddenly attacked me and I ended up at the temple. Some guys tried to stand in my way but they were easily overcome. Then I found you. The only information that I got from that Harpocrates guy was that she ran away. It was a though blow for them because she took some important objects with her. He called them the Relics of the Moirae. I think that your scissor is one of them. He said that she came from the west, unfortunately I have no clues of where and as it would be like looking for a needle on a haystack, I can’t pursue my mission.”

“But what could possibly be so important about that woman that made an S-class mission? Sure, she is strong but there must be something else.” Lucy interjected.

Erza got up and started pacing the room, “I don’t know but I can’t continue the mission. For now I think that it will have to be put on hold. It is more important that we go back to the Guild and talk to the Master. He may help us with some theories and we have to give him that,” she pointed to the book, “as soon as possible.”

“I guess you’re right. So, what do we do now?”

“And I don’t know if this is the right time to say this but my magic is kind of failing…” Gray stated.

“Say what?” Lucy and Erza said at the same time.

“I tried to produce something and it came out very frail.”

“It must be a reaction to last day…”

“Another reason for us to hurry back to Magnolia.”

“What are we going to do?”

“Do you think you can handle travelling to Magnolia?”

“What choice do we have?” asked Gray. “Is there any train soon? It’s night already…”

“You’re right. And you could regain more strength.” She grabbed the book and turned around, “First thing in the morning we’ll take the train. Though it’s not been long since we got up, I’m sure we all could use some more rest. See you in the morning.” She left the room.

“I guess Erza’s right. If you want to call room service to take the trays away you can but don’t order food, okay?”

“Relax Lucy. See you tomorrow.” Said Natsu as he pushed her out the door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Unbetaed.


	15. A hard conversation turned worse

Turning back to the room Natsu saw Gray looking expectantly at him. “What?”

“I thought that you wanted to tell me something, before the girls got here.”

‘Crap, I thought – well, hoped – he forgot about that… What should I do?’

“I-I don’t know what you’re talking about…” Natsu couldn’t quite make himself look Gray in the eye. Gray saw clearly through his lie and got a little irritated.

“Cut the crap. You know what I’m talking about.”

“Oh, I almost forgot.” Natsu called room service to stall for a bit more. He could see Gray glaring at him and if looks could kill he certainly would be, by now, a mass of quivering goo on the floor.

The manservant entered and left, Natsu accompanied him to the door and remained with his back to Gray. He braced himself when he heard Gray’s voice, “Now, you don’t have anything else to avoid the conversation. Come on, how bad can it be?” he was remembering Natsu’s serious expression earlier and hoped it wasn’t _that_ bad.

Hearing this made Natsu’s eyes widen and his hands ball in desperation. ‘You may think that now but when you hear what I have to say you’ll hate me…’ he closed his eyes, took a deep breath and turned. He had his teeth clenched as he thought bitterly, ‘Thanks a lot for nothing!’ he thought to the deities that had ignored his pleas. He walked to the foot of the bed and stood there, looking at Gray.

“Spill.” this simple word made Natsu run his hand through his rosy locks, agitatedly. He bit his lower lip and finally conceded. “Do you remember our last mission?”

Gray blinked. He wasn’t expecting this but answered anyway, “Yes.”

“So you remember the whole thing, the Spyroglal’s poison and the concoction I made to heal you.”

“I’m not sure if I’m following but, yeah, I remember it.”

“Well, in fact, besides the concoction, to help you I had to do a thing – a thing that was strictly forbidden by Igneel…” Natsu’s eyes had been wandering through the wall as he spoke and he just looked at Gray when he ended his tirade. He seemed to want to say something but as no words left his mouth Natsu continued.

“You weren’t faring well – at all – so before you slipped further I… bit you.” Gray’s eyes widened, “Here.” He pointed to a place on his collarbone. “And with it we kind of linked… We established the beginnings of a bond.”

“A b-bond? But that’s not possible! Those things don’t exist!” Gray all but gasped the words.

“Sorry to contradict you but they do exist. Now they’re as rare as Spyroglals but those are also things that you’ve just met no long ago so you can’t say they don’t exist.”

“Don’t try to be funny! What does – what does this do?” Gray was nearly screaming.

“I’m not so sure…” Natsu gave a pained smile.

“What?! You don’t…”

“But I think that the bond may be the reason for the ritual to be incomplete.”

“It was incomplete?”

“I had that feeling. Maybe that was the reason why you were absorbed into the beast’s body. Sorry,” he said at Gray’s shudder.

“But you don’t know for sure…”

“I think that your core got slightly tainted. Not that it is a terrible thing, I mean, a little bit of my strength has been passed to you.”

“How?”

“You know, the bite and all. I had to do something to impeach you from dying.”

“And there was no other way, at the time…”

“At the time or ever. You were losing that battle and if it was in my power to help it, I would do anything.”

“Even disobey Igneel.”

“Even that.” He looked at Gray, his expression stony.

“That-that’s just ridiculous. And what does this bond do? What are its effects?” Gray shook his head disbelievingly.

“I don’t know.” Natsu looked apologetic. “But I noticed some differences in your behaviour already.”

“You did? What happened?” Gray’s arm flailed for an instant.

“You-“ Natsu crossed his arms in front of him and looked down at them. “You’ve started to seek warmth. The bond has been compelling you to unconsciously get closer to me.”

Gray gave a snort at how ridiculous that sentence sounded.

“It’s true Gray! Just think of the times since the mission and in which we were together that you awoke next to me! I’m not sure of when it started but it must be true.”

Gray was about to refute when some mornings flashed across his memory. It was true! He had awoken next to Natsu more times in the last weeks than ever before. And if during the night he awoke, there had always been a heat source that made him feel comfortable and safe – that in the morning turned out to be Natsu! A hand rose to cover his mouth as he looked at Natsu horrified. Natsu saw this and just wanted to comfort his friend so he went to his side and reached to him. He didn’t have the chance to touch Gray because he flinched away and shouted “Don’t!” while he covered his face with his arms and tried to shy away from him, leaning more against the headboard. Natsu looked at him pleadingly for moments and let his hand fall back.

“Alright, I won’t. Just, look at me.” He pleaded in a soft voice.

Gray dropped his arms but didn’t look at him. How could he? He brought his knees to his chest, as if to shield him from Natsu.

“Look Gray, I’m really sorry. But it’s not as if things are going to change, you know?”

“Have you thought about what’s going to happen to my magic? Is this the reason why my magic is so strange? Is this all your fault?”

“No. I mean, I don’t think so. I highly doubt that that’s the reason-“

“How can you? Didn’t you just say that you didn’t know much about this?”

“I did but-“

“Shut up! Just shut up.”

At this outburst Natsu backed down. He needed to give Gray some room but he was not about to physically leave the room. He sat on the chair previously occupied by Erza, crossed his arms on the table and let his head rest on them. Happy patted him, fearfully, on the arm. He lifted his head. “You okay?” he whispered.

“I’m fine.” He looked back at Gray, “Gray just needs a little time to wrap his mind around this idea.” He sighed.

“Do you think things will be better in the morning?”

“I hope so.” He straightened when he heard the bedcover shuffle a little. Gray was trying to get up. Natsu, slowly, got up from the chair and came to a stop a couple of steps in front of Gray.

“I don’t need your help. Go away.” Gray was sitting at the edge of the bed, his feet on the floor and his hands gripping tightly at the bedcover. His whole posture screamed defensive and he didn’t look at Natsu in the eye.

Natsu just gave a tired sigh. He didn’t expect this conversation to end up like this, at all.

“Look, there’s no way you can go to the bathroom alone. You’re not strong enough. Please, let me help you. After all, we’re still friends.”

“Look-“ Gray started. Then he looked into Natsu’s eyes. He saw how the other was looking at him. One part of him wanted to reconsider because, if Natsu had acted against Igneel’s orders and had ended up in this predicament (because he was in here too, for sure), it had all been to save him. Gray may have a reason to be hurt at his actions but he couldn’t be mad at Natsu. With that he started on his way to forgive him – but this was just a first step. “Okay, help me but this doesn’t mean that I’m okay with this.” Natsu had quickly come to his side and put one of Gray’s arms around his neck while one of his circled Gray’s waist. They stumbled to the bathroom with Natsu still holding most of Gray’s weight. He let him at the door and wasn’t too surprised when it slammed shut. Hopefully Gray could brace himself in the small room. Natsu walked to the bed and started pulling at the bedcover and folding it to make Happy’s bed. Happy was hovering over the table and looking concernedly from Natsu’s back to the bathroom door but there was nothing he could say or do so he contented with being silent and give them both moral support.

When the bedcovers were in the shape he wanted them to, Natsu placed them on the table. He looked around the room and picked some discarded items and clothes and busied himself with them while he waited for Gray.

~^~

Inside the bathroom Gray, who was leaning against the door, took a deep breath. It was the first moment to himself that he had since Natsu had dropped that bomb. Those few moments in the room before didn’t count because he had still been in Natsu’s _presence_. Slowly he got to the sink and washed his face. Turning off the faucet he looked at his reflection on the mirror. Tiny drops of water were dripping down his face and onto Natsu’s shirt.

He couldn’t even reach the most important matter of this!

In the few hours he had been awake he had not only known what had happened to his friends but also got life changing news. Maybe it wasn’t _that_ bad and didn’t change anything – he had no idea about how these things worked. But he was an ice mage, like, the polar opposite to Natsu. It had to mix things up somehow. And as he was such an _optimistic_ person with so many _good_ experiences in life he could already see where this was going to end… He grabbed a towel from the towel rack and dried his face. After he went to the toilet and relieved himself and as he washed his hands his reflection seemed to be asking him, ‘What now?’

He sagged a little and gripped the edges of the basin. The eyes looking back at him were tired and almost defeated. He gulped. No. He couldn’t be defeated! He pulled away some bangs of hair that were drooping in front of his eyes, and now he saw a small sparkle of determination look back at him. After all, he was Gray Fullbuster. He had survived Ur’s crazy training and became a good and strong ice mage. He had survived Deliora, he even had survived some rare creatures. This bond thing was not going to pull him down. And there were worse persons with who he could have this bond thing. Yes, Natsu was infuriating and in the majority of the time he just wanted to freeze him and/or punch him until his face became unrecognizable (it didn’t matter that he would be punched in return for that) but with Natsu he had something that few, very few people earned from him. Gray trusted Natsu. So, if he trusted him he couldn’t throw away their friendship, as in a few instants he had wanted to. No. He had thought about that and that would be terrible and he wasn’t about to face this alone. For now he only had to breathe and not think too much about this. He was still himself and had just escaped a life threatening situation. With that he could deal. The rest had to wait. He semi-dragged himself to the door and came to a room that was prepared for sleep. Happy was in his makeshift bed and Natsu was kneeling by the wall, stuffing things into his bags.

Gray cleared his throat and Natsu gave a startled jump. “So you’re ready to go to bed?” Gray just gave a curt nod.

Natsu helped him back to the bed and for moments stood shifting from foot to foot above him.

“Look, there’s only one bed and I know that the conditions between us aren’t the best but the bed is quite large and I don’t see why we can’t share.”

Gray looked at him with an ‘are you serious?’ expression.

“Thought so…“ Natsu muttered as he went to the bathroom. When he returned he went to the closet and found a bed sheet. He stormed to where the bags were and lay on the floor. Without words Gray just turned the light off and fell back to the bed. They lay in heavy silence, only broken by Happy’s soft sleepy murmurs (something about fish).

At some point Natsu started tossing and turning on the floor and that grated on Gray’s nerves. He had enough of it. Sitting carefully he grabbed the pillow and threw it at Natsu. The answer to his action was a muffled “Oompf!” from where it had connected with Natsu’s face.

“If it is so problematic you can sleep on the bed. Fine, geez.” He heard some movement and instants later the bed dipped under Natsu’s weight.

No words were said, the sheet was pulled taut between them as they lay with their backs against the other.

Time went on and the night passed by but neither slept as they were far too deep in thoughts.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Unbetaed.


	16. Back to Magnolia

Morning came without much rest for either Natsu or Gray. On the contrary, it had been pretty much uncomfortable and Happy had been the only one to provide the sleepy sounds.

When Erza knocked on the door, a grumpy Natsu answered it.

“Good morning. Are you ready to go?” she saw the bags already by the door. “Lucy’s checking us out and paying. Where is Gray?” her answer was a jerk from Natsu’s thumb towards the bathroom’s door. “My, you aren’t in a talkative mood, are you?”

“Can you notice it that much?” he sighed. “Gray’s feeling better today. At least he managed to go to the bathroom alone.”

Erza frowned a bit. This sullen character wasn’t the Natsu she knew. And he looked a bit tired, dark circles under his eyes. “Are you alright? You look tired…”

Natsu just shrugged and pushed her concern aside. He knelt and grabbed one of his bags, fastening some last buckles.

In that moment the door opened and Gray entered the room slowly. Erza had the time to notice that he still wore the same pants and a yellow shirt that certainly belonged to Natsu. What made her momentarily smile was the fact that he was wearing a pair of Natsu’s sandals. But he also looked a bit tired… Then she felt it. A palpable tension between these two could be felt. ‘What the hell may have happened?’ she wondered concernedly. It was true that they were always fighting and that they hated each other’s guts (that was a load of bull, in her opinion as they always behaved friendly when she saw them) but whatever caused this was serious. “There you are, Gray. As I was saying to Natsu, we’re ready to go. Are you?”

Gray looked at her then at his hands. Yeah, he was ready. “I’m fine. I don’t have anything mine here so…” he ended the sentence with a shrug.

“Once that you’re wearing my things you might as well help me with my bags.” Natsu presented one of the smaller bags to Gray who held it, not looking at him. Erza noticed the slight blush that tinged Gray’s cheeks at the clothes’ reference. At least they were behaving somewhat normally. “So, we should head back. Come on.” She continued down the corridor and descended the stairs. Happy, with his satchel flew after her leaving the boys in the room. Natsu stood next to the door so he motioned for Gray to leave the room. After what looked like hours but in fact were only seconds, Gray walked past Natsu and left the room while putting the bag on his back. Natsu was the last person so he just glanced once more to the room (he was not about to leave anything behind) and, with the large bag on his shoulders, closed the door. When he got downstairs Lucy was looking at him suspiciously. Great! Erza must’ve said something and he was about to take the blame for whatever reason. “Shall we?” he said with his usual nonchalant attitude.

“Yes, let’s. I’m tired of the desert.” Lucy added.

They left the Inn and walked to the train station, Erza falling a little back to help Gray and keep him company. This gave Lucy the opportunity to try and get some answers for the tense ambiance. “So, what happened? This is much worse than anything I have ever seen between you two. And I’ve watched my share of fights, lots of your sulking moods and other _manly_ -“ she made air quotes “things between you two.”

“You’ve not been on the Guild enough time to be able to compare-“

“But Erza has and she said she had never seen it…”

This brought a small smile to his lips. “You know how our relation with Erza is. But you don’t have to worry.”

“Why so?”

“Because this is all a misunderstanding. Gray needs to think about this and we have to talk a bit and everything will be alright.”

“If you say so… Because I would hate to see our team fall apart just because of one misunderstanding.”

They were entering a bazaar area, when suddenly Lucy gave a jump towards Natsu and grabbed his arm when a merchant jerked a cobralli (an orange kind of serpent that had a large fang sprouting from the mouth and a bright red fin that went through its whole back) in front of her. Her startled shriek made the cobralli squirm in the hand of the merchant. “There’s no need to be scared, miss. Look how friendly she is…”

“I would rather not.” She said from behind Natsu, her voice quivering a bit. Natsu just shook his head and turned to the man, “Sorry, we’re not interested.” And kept walking, almost dragging Lucy who was grabbing his back. They were walking slower now and it didn’t take long until the others got into step with them.

“What was that all about?” Erza asked.

“Let’s say that Lucy here got scared by a little cobralli.” Teased Natsu.

“I was _not_ scared! It’s just that it appeared in front of me and I got…”

“Scared…” interjected Gray.

“Startled.” Corrected Lucy.

The rest of the walk to the station Lucy was shamelessly teased about her fear – no, by being startled – with reptiles.

Their usual mood rose and everybody was laughing and joking but underneath they could all feel the uneasy tension trying to rise again.

~^~

For once the journey on the train was a calm one. Natsu was sitting by the window and, as usually, he was out for the count; Erza was on his side, a serious frown on her face; Gray was in front of her, resolutely looking at someplace near Erza’s head but not meeting her stare; Lucy was on his side, in front of Natsu and had already a book on her hands and finally, Happy was moving around, from knee to knee and settling on the space between Lucy and Gray. As no-one seemed to be about to say anything he closed his eyes and took a nap.

So, Happy was sleeping, Lucy was reading, Natsu was passed out with nausea and Gray and Erza were having a staring contest in which one of the contestants was avoiding the other’s stare.

‘Oh my… talk about deafening silence… I never thought that expression could happen in real life, but here it is… I just hope Erza doesn’t do something rash.’ While thinking this Lucy turned yet another page of the book to which she wasn’t paying the least attention. What was a shame since she had wanted to read it for quite some time… Her eyes shifted from the book to the pair on her right and ended on Natsu. The way he was slumped on the seat wasn’t even one of his comical and usual ones. He was just sitting and leaning against the window, eyes firmly shut and scowl set in place.

Erza leaned back and finally decided to speak. Changing the leg that was crossed she addressed to Gray, “I know that you have some problem. You guys weren’t troubled like this when we left you yesterday.” She saw Gray tense and how his jaw tightened. She continued, “If you don’t want to tell us, you are in your right but you have to work this thing out for the sake of group and eventual missions that will be held. And it won’t do if you guys are constantly arguing and fighting what, knowing you, may lead to the destruction of our Guild.” She made a small pause to look at Lucy who was almost on the floor. She muttered a small, “Sorry, I slipped.” While quickly sitting back and hiding behind her book. “So, I’ll ask you with good manners, solve this problem that if I need to come with this conversation again I’ll make sure that I’m the one that deals with this. Am I clear?”

For the first time since sitting down Gray’s eyes met Erza’s and he nodded. “Yes.” But inwardly he was thinking ‘Sheesh, even when trying to clear this she can be scary as hell. At least she didn’t force me to tell her about the matter…’ a small shiver went down his spine as he imagined the consequences. He half-glared at Lucy for her near slip about their behaviour at some times when Erza was out (and their small fights) and, suddenly, came to a strange conclusion. Yes, in fact, many times they had been stopped by someone mentioning Erza. A wry smile crept to his lips. Now that he thought calm and analytically about it, he noticed how he and Natsu were conditioned by the fear of this scary woman. Scary she might be, but he was sure that she only wanted him to be well. She was like a big sister – both to him and Natsu – except that she was a punishing and scary sister. Meh, he loved her anyway, she was family. And this conditioning might be a way for others to stop him when he was about to do something (very) stupid. Or to make fun of him, sometimes… He leaned back on the seat and for the first time since the train had started moving, he allowed himself to relax.

For the rest of the journey the group (minus Natsu) was considerably more cheerful. It had been after Erza’s speech that some of the tension disappeared and they didn’t notice time pass until they got to Magnolia.

As soon as the train stopped Natsu snapped out of his nausea induced trance and was bursting with energy once again. The group had spent the day on the train so it was almost dinner time when they crossed the Guild’s doors.

Through the middle of the constant party in which seemed that the Guild was most of the times, many heads turned while assessing the group that had arrived. Through many heads the thought ‘What are they doing together? Hadn’t they go in different missions?’ ran.

The group walked calmly to the counter where Mira and the Master awaited. Makarov coughed a little. “So… I assume you returned together…”

Erza confirmed and took a step ahead and was about to start talking when the Master lifted a hand to stop her. “You can wait a little longer, Erza. For now, Gray come with me.” He jumped to the ground and started walking to one of the doors that led to the back.

Everybody watched this in bewildered silence until the moment in which Mirajane placed large jugs of beer and other beverages on the counter. A delicious smell was coming from the kitchen and there wasn’t anything as powerful as the prospect of food and drink to distract the mob that crowded the ground floor of the Guild. Seeing that the focus wasn’t in them anymore Mirajane leaned in a conspiracious manner on the counter and asked, “So, can you tell me what happened? The Master has been quite worried and even called that person and used that room – that is working perfectly, so is a total win, by the way – to take a look at Gray.” This announcement collected gasps from the group. They looked at each other realizing how worried the Master had been with Gray’s situation. “Sadly she arrived a couple of days after Gray left. Considering that he is alive, well, that you all are, I can guess that the missions were successful?” she asked with an arched eyebrow.

In that moment it struck them that no, no mission had been completed. In fact, they had evolved into something else entirely. Watching the sudden gloom that fell upon her friends Mirajane hurried to ask, “What? Did I say something I shouldn’t have…?”

Natsu’s stomach’s sudden roar saved them from having to answer. Exhaling exasperatedly she turned around to go fetch them some food. Moments later she placed several dishes overflowing with food and, as they weren’t exactly about to share their adventures and the reason for returning together – yet – she easily filled the blanks with gossip and bringing them up to date with the most pressing matters on the Guild and Magnolia.

The comforting and familiar noises around them allowed them to relax even more and when Levi arrived and started a literary conversation with Lucy or Mirajane started teasing Erza about some old matter, if anyone noticed how Natsu’s eyes roamed to a certain door lastly crossed by two certain mages, nobody said anything.

~^~

The moment Makarov and Gray walked through the door they had, apparently, walked into another dimension. From the well illuminated, ample, noisy and warm room they had walked to a corridor that was darker (though the torches in the walls at certain spaces gave enough light), silent and colder (due to its almost Spartan décor). The Master started climbing the stairs, “You’ve finally arrived. Do you have any idea of how worried we were?” he was walking slowly for Gray’s sake, his hands behind his back and, Gray noticed, that frown that indicated that a lecture was coming and that it was well deserved. Gray cringed a bit but continued following. “When Mirajane told me you had left and that were going by pure stubbornness I wanted to follow you myself and bring you back by an ear if needed. Your luck was that prior engagements impeached me.” When they got to the first floor they turned to the left and further ahead turned to the right. This was a part of the somewhat recently rebuilt Guild that Gray didn’t know (because he didn’t spend that much time on the Guild, and even less in the back rooms). They came to a stop in front of a heavy wooden door. The Master knocked and it opened silently. Inside only darkness could be seen.

Makarov halted, looked at Gray and motioned him to follow.

Gray paused still for a few more instants at the doorstep before stepping in. For the second time since he had entered the Guild his surroundings changed drastically. The door closed behind him and as he was enveloped by the heavy darkness. The air he was breathing was strong and humid, heavy like the air you could breathe in deep forests, like the East Forest… He noticed a light further ahead and, circling what looked like a large bark, he went towards it. What wasn’t his surprise when he came to find the Master and a lady sitting in comfortable looking chairs in front of a fire. He looked around, in awe, at the vegetation that framed and was the room. Deep green appeared intermittently due to the game of light and darkness provided by the fire. Gray walked until he was on the Master’s left, between an empty chair and Makarov’s. Makarov indicated that he ought to take the seat. Gray did so. And Makarov started, “Gray, this is my old friend,” this earned him an arched eyebrow from the woman that was looking at him, “Poluchka. She is a healing wizard and I wanted her to check your Spyroglals wound.” The woman leaned on her left elbow and muttered something about rare creatures. Makarov proceeded, “I had some trouble bringing her here and then when you left I wasn’t about to let her go back so we had to give her a room here at the Guild where she has been very grumpy at having to be surrounded by so many humans.”

“Yes, and I would like to do this examination and leave this place as soon as I can. So, shall we?” she led him to another room from where a yellow glow was emanating. Gray stopped on the entrance and turned to Makarov, “Could you please call Natsu? I think he’ll need to be here.” He entered the room right away so he missed Makarov’s confused look.

~^~

Natsu was only on his fourth dish of meat when the Master returned to the room. Seeing his confused expression made him stop the track of the piece of meat just centimetres from his mouth.

“Gray requested your presence.”

Natsu quickly let go of the food and cleaned his mouth and hands on the napkin and jumped from his stool to go after the Master who had already walked through the door.

The girls looked at each other, confused. This was suspicious.

Happy continued eating his pile of fish. He knew what that was all about but nobody was going to ask him neither was he going to say anything.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Unbetaed.


	17. Bonds and Magic

Natsu entered a dark and heavy room. It seemed more like he had entered a forest than a room. He looked inquisitively at the Master. They walked in silence, dodging obstacles (that probably were tree’s barks) that seemed to come out of thin air.

Makarov brought them to what looked like a sitting room, that had the adequate furniture by a fireplace. The Master was already sitting in one of the armchairs but Natsu was still standing, apprehensively. “What is this place?” he asked while looking around.

“This is the room of one of our dearest guests. Now sit, please.” He was looking at Natsu with a serious expression. “I don’t know what happened. Could you explain or shall we wait for the end of Gray’s examination?” he wasn’t pushing or anything but Natsu sat tiredly on the chair previously occupied by Gray and didn’t respond.

So much for giving Gray time to sort things up by himself first. Apparently he was going to have to deal with this situation from the moment he returned home. Natsu let his elbows rest on his knees and increased the strength in his clasped hands. He just looked at them. Makarov understood that he was not going to say anything so he leaned back on his chair and waited, watching the flames dance on the hearth.

Soft voices could be heard coming from somewhere nearby.

~^~

Downstairs, after spending a few more times looking at the door and looking suspiciously at each other the girls finally let go.

“It seems that we’re to be out of the secret.” Sighed Lucy with a small pout. She grabbed the glass in front of her and downed it in one go.

“Don’t think like that. I’m sure that sooner or later they’ll tell us.” Erza admonished.

“Oh, but you know something, right? Do tell, do tell!” Mirajane clapped her hands.

“No. We don’t know anything. Only that there’s been some sort of misunderstanding between those two.” Lucy placed her chin in the palm of her hand, the other hand playing distractedly with a grape.

“And they haven’t chopped each other’s heads off yet? I don’t even want to imagine how your journey back was…” Levi said while looking from the book where she was trying to find a passage that she wanted to show Lucy.

“That’s what _is_ strange. During the way back they barely spoke to and looked at each other even less, and that is counting with Natsu’s transportation problem.” Lucy squished the poor grape and watched the juice flowing down her hand, boredly. This was so not fair!

“Whatever it is we just have to support them. They told me that they’ll solve this in no time. Let’s not worry too much.” Erza sipped on her tea. She tried to follow Mirajane with her eyes as she had disappeared under the counter. Clanking noises could be heard as she moved around. She came up again, holding a letter.

“I was almost forgetting. Here’s mail for you.” She presented the neatly folded letter to Lucy. “It got here a couple of days ago.” Lucy took it slowly.

“Thank you.” Her eyes roamed the piece of paper distractedly until they stopped on the seal. “I know this seal…” she closed her mouth as she noticed from where it had come from. Her expression closed up and she was now very serious. “This is from the council…”

“The council?” asked Erza.

“Yes, the Celestial Mages Council, or as we call it, the Celestial Council. It works as a sort of regulating organ to the Celestial Mages. Though we have extreme freedom, there are some matters that need to be decided with the full assembly. They are also there to solve the major problems and enforce the basic laws. We all have to go there when we first become Celestial Mages and spend some time studying the arcanes. And if a mage is also successful they may receive some special gifts from the council…”

“I see. So it is like the Magic Council.”

“Yes, but on a different scale. That one is for Guilds and its members, notwithstanding the kind of mage they are and may have something to say in the political realm while this one is specific to Celestial Mages and only deals with them. It’s a bit the reverse.” Lucy opened the letter, her eyes quickly scanning the contents. The further she read the further her lips thinned and settled in a grim line.

“What? Bad news?” asked Erza, the three girls were now looking concernedly at Lucy.

Lucy firmly shut the letter and answered tensely, “I’ve been summoned.”

“You did? Why?”

“They want to make an evaluation of my spirits.” She didn’t say anything further but they could see clearly that that wasn’t the only reason.

“And when?”

“I’m to go there as soon as I can. Ugh! I don’t think I can make it tonight…” she slumped bonelessly on the counter (who thankfully had been cleaned of dishes by Mirajane). No-one noticed when she surreptitiously guarded the pieces of paper in her pocket. “I’m too tired to go anywhere and I want to know the outcome of Gray’s examination.”

“It’s not fair that you all have things to do and I just spend the day here taking care of them.” Mirajane signalled to the general area of the room. Some disembodied “Thank you, Mira!”, “We love you too!” or simply affronted “Hey!” could be heard in answer. She just puffed her cheeks and turned to the group, “See what I mean?”

“Oh please. You know you love it. Someone has to take care of the Guild or it would’ve been destroyed long ago. Besides going on mission takes time and distract us from other things we would prefer to be doing.”

“Say one thing.”

“The missions don’t leave much time to read. The only good thing is that with them we earn jewels.” Levi flipped another page on the book. She might look focused on it but the conversation had distracted her and pulled her in and she had looked from it more times than usual.

“Yes. Then you have the monetary matter. I don’t earn enough.”

“If you have that big a deal you could always go on vacation and spend some days by yourself. There are good places to visit and relax.” Erza added matter-of-factly.

“Are you crazy? Then who would take care of the Guild?” she looked horrified.

The three girls nearly fell from their stools.

‘It’s hopeless. This is going in circles…’ they thought with a sweatdrop.

They were so immersed in their banter that they didn’t notice time pass and conveniently pushed their worries to the back of their minds.

~^~

Inside the dark and oppressive room time didn’t run. It dragged.

And the voices that were coming from a contiguous room didn’t do anything to alleviate Natsu’s tension.

Then, finally, the light became more pronounced and two figures emerged from that room. Natsu jumped into a standing position, the Master also getting up. When the figures approached the armchairs Natsu saw a tall woman that was followed closely by Gray. During the examination he had had to take off the shirt and peel off the bandages leaving his torso naked. Seeing the wounds that marred Gray’s body made Natsu ball his fists, clench his teeth and let out an involuntary growl. He didn’t notice the side glance that Makarov threw at him, having his eyes fastened on Gray.

Gray felt the eyes on him but didn’t exactly want to meet the stare.

“Natsu this is Poluchka, a friend of mine that I called to examine Gray. And, what can you tell me about Gray’s condition?” he asked, turning to her.

She sat once again on her chair and showed Gray how he was to sit in front of her. When Gray passed Natsu their eyes met from the first time. ‘Are you ready to do this?’ inquired Natsu. ‘What choice do we have?’ answered Gray with a roll of his eyes.

He sat on the chair. Natsu looked back and a chair had magically appeared besides Gray’s. So Natsu and Gray were sitting opposed to Makarov and Poluchka.

“Now we can discuss this matter as I thing it needs to be discussed.” Makarov said in a grave voice. “What did you find out?” he demanded, turning to Poluchka.

“He presents several wound marks. The ones to which you requested my attention are mostly healed. He has only slight magical vestiges that could delay the healing. Nothing too strange or out of the ordinary – even if these marks were made by a rare creature. I’ll leave him with a mix of leaves to make a tea that will help him recover faster. However, I noticed something strange in his magic. Did you have any trouble involving large quantities of magic lately?”

The boys shared a look. With Gray’s assent Natsu summed the most important things from the mission. Or was about to. It would be more understandable if he told the story from the beginning.

“It’s better if I tell you what happened from the start. It all began with the Spyroglals’ wounds.” If his audience was the least surprised, they didn’t show. “I had to make some immediate decisions to help overcome the poison so we established, what could be called, a bond.” His words were now met with surprised gasps.

“Are you sure of what you’re saying? Bonds are things that are impossible these days. And they are only referred in legends, ballads or fiction. They are things in which the know-how and associated dangers have already been lost in time.” Makarov was leaning forward in his chair.

“With all due respect, you seem to forget that Igneel lived for quite a while, possibly a few millennia. And he taught me enough for me to know the least about these things.” Natsu defended.

“It may corroborate the fluctuations I sensed in the magic.” She added.

Natsu shook his head and continued. “As far as I know, I just gave Gray strength to defeat the poison. It can’t affect him that much, if you exclude some details.”

“You may have some knowledge but even that can’t compare to what we know, as little as it is.” Natsu’s brow furrowed as he was admonished. “But please, continue.”

“The following part that matters comes from our mission. Lucy, Happy and I came to a ritual where they pulled… I mean, where an orange mist pulled a white mist from Gray.” He could see Gray’s slight shudder by the corner of his eye. “I think that they were pulling Gray’s magic. It got to a point that I’m still not too sure about, but I think that the ritual wasn’t completed and Gray was absorbed into the body of the monster that they had summoned.”

The Master was so on edge on the chair that if he let go of the armrests he would fall to the ground. On his side Poluchka had a pensive expression on her face, as if she was placing the pieces from a puzzle in its rightful places. Natsu looked at Gray and just watching him stay there and let Natsu do all the talking as if it hadn’t anything to do with him, was starting to bother him. Where was Gray, the loudmouthed and obnoxious? Where the hell was his friend and rival? He couldn’t possibly be so down that all his character’s strength was gone, could he? Well, just in the case that he was embarrassed or ashamed about this situation being on display (even if it was the Master), Natsu had to do something to make him feel better – and he was going to. He elbowed Gray on the arm and the tiny jerk that followed was smoothly covered as Gray inquisitively turned to Natsu. His eyes looked a bit annoyed and promised payback. This small interaction was interrupted by Makarov, clearing his throat.

“From what you told me I can assume that what was pulled from Gray was, indeed, his magic. And your supposition about the ritual being incomplete is also correct. The evidence is that that monster you said they summoned had to absorb Gray. That’s a sign. When something or someone that is taking energy or magic, whatever you want to call it, from a recipient and later has to absorb it, it shows that there was some error while it was taking the energy. They overcome that problem by digesting the recipient. That way they will not only get all the energy but also be able to integrate some of the characteristics of the recipient. My theory is that your bond, maybe due to the fact that was made between two very different kinds of magic, as you, Gray, are Ice and Natsu is Fire, is what saved your life by not allowing it to complete the ritual.”

“And that also explains your magic’s actual weakness.” Poluchka interrupted. All the eyes focused on her. “How can I put this in a way that you understand…?”

Natsu’s muttered grumble at ‘not being a little kid anymore’ brought a small smile to Gray’s lips and an exasperated sigh from the Master. Poluchka just cocked an eyebrow and continued.

“Our magic is inherent and characteristic to each and every one of us mages. Even two mages that are of the same type of magic will have different strengths and weaknesses and their interaction with the magic will be different, as you know. There are many reasons for that but that’s not the point, sorry. I meant to say that with our different characteristics, one’s magic has its perfect, let’s call it habitat, in the mage where the magic resides. If taken out of its place, the magic will need some time to get minimally used to whatever new place it was thrown to. What happened to your magic is that, first of all, it was taken away by force and placed in a new recipient and then, due to the failure of the ritual, your body entered in contact with the new recipient. What did it try to do? Go back to its rightful place but so much happened in-between that it returned to your body very weakened. And when I say weak I mean it. I could assess that your core is complete – with one abnormality that has already been explained by the bond – but it will take some time until you return to your usual levels of strength and power.”

Gray relaxed completely, a hand coming to his forehead as he breathed in relief, “Oh… You have no idea of how relieved I am, I still have my magic and only need to let it, huh, rest…? And then I’ll still be able to use it as usual, right?”

She nodded but continued, “Unfortunately the magic’s healing will not only be slow but also painful. It’s always like this when these kinds of magical dealings happen. Some physical training may help you with that.”

“And what about the bond?” Natsu’s question refrained some of Gray’s relief – he had discarded it a bit from his thoughts.

“I am no expert in bonds – nobody is nowadays – but from what I recall from some of my studies, the bond doesn’t change your magic in the matrix, I mean, its true nature isn’t meant to affect and drastically change the Ice nature but, as it is between two mages of opposite elements of Nature, it is bound to change. Most of the bonds have an evolution and are in constant mutation but yours is stronger. Not only by the fact of contrary Nature elements but also because it was created to save Gray’s life. In your case it will most likely cause some  noticeable changes in the magic but what it will do I ignore.”

‘Oh good. It is now that he will not forgive me. Am I ready to be kicked to the other side of the Guild without reacting?’ Natsu braced himself, turned and said, “Did you see? Your magic is fine.” It wasn’t exactly one of his best ideas or the right thing to say as Gray almost got ready to punch him in the eye. Only Makarov speaking stopped the imminent brawl. “Boys, boys. Please, behave.”

Poluchka got up and returned to the room with the mellow light and returned to the main room with Gray’s shirt, new bandages and a box filled with vials. She picked one that had ‘Unguent WT7’ on the label and passed it to Gray, with the shirt and bandages. “You should apply that one on your Spyroglal wounds and for the rest you can use the one that says ‘WT3’. In case of doubt you can read the parchment that I added. You should also make that tea as we had already agreed.” Gray just nodded in acknowledgement. He wanted to get out of this place where the air was pressing down on him, go home, take off these clothes and sleep in his bed.

“Natsu you should help Gray with the bandages.” Said Makarov.

The world came to a halt. Neither was expecting to be in the other’s presence for much longer but when they saw the serious demeanour, they had no other choice but obey. Makarov developed his reasoning for that demand, “I can imagine how this must be hard but you two need to talk. That’s the only way that you’ll survive this. If you’re interested I can give you some things to study and understand this bond a bit better.” He smirked at the twin groans coming from the youngsters. “Now go on, go on. You can use the room at the end of the corridor.” The smirk grew at the disgruntled look that the boys had when they started moving, Natsu coming to pick up the box, and they quickly left the room.

~^~

Makarov and Poluchka remained in the room, calmly sitting on the armchairs, after the boys left. They were still trying to comprehend the whole picture of the boys’ situation.

“That bond is going to bring them a whole new lot of troubles.” She commented after a while.

Makarov turned to her, eyebrow raised. “What makes you say that? Premonition?”

She shook her head, “No. It’s just a feeling… But sooner or later things are going to change between those two.”

“As if I needed more headaches.” They looked at each other. Then a flickering yellow light pierced the room and came to a stop floating in front of Makarov – it was a tiny yellow sparrow.

“Seems like I’m being called.” He said, standing up.

“It would appear so. Go on. I still have some things to sort out.”

He nodded, “I’ll be right back. There are some things I still want to discuss with you.” The door closed with an almost inaudible click.

She leaned back on the chair and looked at the happily crackling fire.

‘Let’s see what happens next…’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Unbetaed.


	18. Conversation between bandages and unguents

The boys left the room but the heavy air still hung around them. Both faces were closed and guarded, they didn’t dare to look at each other either.

Gray was walking ahead, his back ramrod straight and that left Natsu to clearly appreciate the shift of muscles as he was still shirtless. He couldn’t help but notice the marks and bruises on the pale skin. It was true that he had fewer wounds in the back – but they were still too many for his taste!

“You also have wounds on your back.” He heard himself say without intending to.

Gray instantly stopped, the rigidness much more pronounced (if that was even possible). His sudden halt almost had Natsu crashing onto him but thanks to his quick reflexes that was avoided.

Slowly Gray turned partially and looked at Natsu, “Well, it was to be expected as I was kidnapped and treated pretty badly.” Natsu opened his mouth but Gray didn’t let him say anything as he quickly added, “But as I said before, I don’t care about the marks as long as I’m still alive to see them…” he shrugged and squeezed tightly the things he had on his arms. After an awkward minute in which Gray’s face was turned at Natsu but his bangs shadowed his eyes and didn’t let Natsu see his expression, he turned back and continued walking. Natsu didn’t have much choice but follow him.

They didn’t take long to reach the appointed door and Gray gingerly grabbed the handle and entered it. The room was simple; a queen sized bed with two bedside tables, each at one of the sides of the bed, a desk with it a chair, under the window and a closet on the far wall. Gray lit the lamp in the bedside table, threw the things he had on his arms to the bed and sat on it. Natsu, in the meantime, had placed the box on the desk and had chosen to sit on the chair by the desk (after he turned it to the bed).

They sat there looking at each other, waiting for the other to take the first step and mention the large eliphentoi in the middle of the room.

Of course that Natsu had to break the silence.

“So… Let me help you with these bandages and we’ll be done here…”

“No we won’t. You heard what the Master said. We need to talk about the bond.”

Natsu let go a small huff and leaned back on the chair, crossing his arms and stretching out his legs. “And you do think that we can have a conversation, really have a conversation with you like this? I can see that you’re on the verge of passing out with the stress from the trip and the relief at the news of your magic.” Gray threw him an offended look, but he kept on, “No, you’re not ready to talk. Not by a long shot.”

“Then what do you want to do? Spend here some time, the night even and pretend that we discussed all these matters? And then if they ask us anything, what will we do?” his affronted question was met with a snort from Natsu.

“You do need your rest more than you think. Just stop for a minute to think about what you just said. You who usually are calm (well, as calm as one can be in the Guild) and can assess several points from a situation, are charging straight ahead blindly.”

“I don’t have to be here and listen while you insult me.” He got a hold on the shirt and started pulling it over his head. But it didn’t budge! He looked up and saw Natsu grabbing it. A menacing growl escaped his throat, “Let. Go. Of. It!”

Natsu was looking at him, eyes shining with a strange light and answered with an unintelligible growl of his own. The difference was that Natsu’s was more feral and had a commanding note that Gray unconsciously obliged. His hands let go of the shirt who was thrown distractedly to the chair. Natsu’s attention was solely focused on Gray as he towered over him.

“Do you see what I mean? Come on. Let me help you. If you want _that_ much to have the conversation I can sleep in your house and we’ll talk in the morning.”

Gray looked at him dumbfounded. That had to be a joke, right? After all, Natsu was contradicting himself as in a moment he was all about giving him space (that he needed) and in the other he was volunteering to spend the night in his house. That had to be the joke of the day, right? Then, why was his expression so serious, as if he was waiting for an answer? ‘Because maybe he is waiting for an answer.’ He answered himself. Could he be doing that? Oh, yes. He could – and certainly was.

Shaking his head, Gray looked at Natsu again.

“I don’t know.” He finally said. “Anyway, could you help me with the bandages now? I’m tired…” he brought a hand to his face and rubbed his forehead, his brows arching up slightly.

“Finally. Of course I will.” Natsu got to work. Starting by fishing a WT3 vial from the box he sat besides Gray on the bed, folding his right leg and remaining with his left foot on the ground he signalled that Gray was to turn to him. When they were in place he frowned a bit and said, “Hm, could you increase the light a little? I’m working a bit in the dark here.” Gray did as requested, leaning back on the bed. The first place Natsu saw the light hit was the slight mark on the collarbone that, in that instant turned a pinkish hue. Shaking his head, Natsu waited until Gray was sitting upright again. He grabbed the WT7 vial, dipped his fingers in it and, holding Gray’s right arm with his left hand he started spreading the light brownish paste on the, by this time well acquainted, gashes. He worked in a methodical and careful way. When he got to the torso wounds Gray shied away from him at the first touch. Arching an eyebrow he looked at Gray. ”Hey! It’s not my fault that it tickles.” Was his embarrassed answer.

Natsu chuckled while he dipped his hand in the stuff, “Who would have said that you’re ticklish?”

Gray held a roll of bandages and threw it at Natsu’s head, “Shut up!” He said good naturedly.

“No can do. There’s still a lot to be done. You can laugh as much as you want in the meanwhile, I allow you to-“ he paused as another roll hit him straight between the eyes.

“Jerk!” was the retort.

“If you say so, but a man’s gotta do what a man’s gotta do…” another round of chuckles permeated the room.

“Now seriously,” Natsu said as they sobered up a little and he was already applying the greenish WT3, “I didn’t know that you were ticklish. You didn’t seem to be the other times…” Gray’s face grew a bright red as he recalled perfectly one of the _other times_. With a sigh he answered simply, “I don’t know. Maybe because in all those times I was dead tired and not exactly myself?” he tried to shrug but as Natsu was working on his neck and shoulder he only came with a half shrug.

“Maybe you’re right.” Was Natsu’s muttered answer, “You may turn around.” He waited while Gray settled with his back turned at him. He continued working on the gashes, scrapes and nasty bruises. “Hopefully this will help you with the healing in no time. The old bat said it would help, right?” the bed shifted a little as Natsu got to the bandages.

“She said so, yes. And you better not let her hear you call her that.” He didn’t see but sensed the grin that undoubtedly was on Natsu’s face, an answering one already blossoming on his face.

“Don’t you worry about that-“ he was stopped by a curt “I was not-“ rolling his eyes Natsu continued. “And keep from squirming now that I’m putting the bandages.” He admonished.

Gray threw him a sour look, “It’s not my fault that you’re tickling me. Try to be more careful.” Natsu’s answering snort irked Gray’s temper.

“More careful and I won’t be touching you. Come on, don’t be such a baby…” the huff that Gray let go made Natsu sure that if he wasn’t full of goo on the arms he would have crossed them over his chest to complete the ensemble with the pout on his face.

Now with Gray only moving a couple of times, it didn’t take much until Natsu had Gray mostly patched up. He was just fastening the last bandage around the upper torso when Gray shuddered – hard. Natsu looked at him – well, at his back – puzzled until he saw where his hand had just passed. The area of the bite. It was better to let that one slide for now…

“So, we still need to talk. I’m finished.” Natsu slapped him lightly on the left shoulder.

“Fine.” Gray leaned against the headboard, “Now what should we do with this bond? I’m not sure of being able to fight it, not with the pain that my magic is going to bring me.”

“Is it going to be that bad?” Natsu was leaning back on his hands looking at him.

“Worse. While examining me she said that it was going to be so bad that in the beginning I wouldn’t even be able to leave the bed.”

“So, it’s going to be the Inn room all over again…”

“Something like that, yes. I’m not looking forward to that at all.”

“At least she left you with some kind of medicine?”

“Must be in the box.” Gray crossed his arms. “Continuing, the bond?”

“I have to try to remember what Igneel taught me because I don’t think of it for… very long…” he felt a comforting hand on his. He let himself fall on the bed, “… and the books that the Master promised, all that’s going to help us have a better picture of this whole thing. And I still don’t know if you forgive me by I am sorry for having to bring you to this mess…” he turned his head towards Gray, seeking his eyes. Gray could see that he was truly sorry and didn’t have it in him to continue that mad at his friend.

“I understand. It was a big shock and I still need to think about it but it was the only way for me to remain alive, I see it now. Heck, it saved my life twice already so I think I can learn to live with it. As long as I don’t start spitting fire it’s fine. There’s already one fire-crazy mage – the Guild doesn’t need another…” he chuckled as Natsu punched him in the leg at the tease.

“Anyway, do you want to tell the girls right away?” Natsu asked while looking at the ceiling, his arms behind his head.

Gray made a face, “I would prefer to be able to think about this more thoroughly first. If we tell them without having all the information available they will worry more than necessary. I think that the piece about my magic will do the trick for now…” he stood up and walked to the chair, throwing the shirt over his head, mindful of the bandages and aches. Then he moved to pick the remaining bandages and vials and dropped them on the box, closed it and finally picked it up. “Shall we go?”

Natsu got up in no time, “Yeah. Oh, and how is it possible that you’re moving so well now? I mean, you were so-so before, we could see that there was a certain strain in the way you moved. How did that happen?”

“That lady did something in my back. She said that it was to help with my magic later. She warned me that I was going to feel good for a short while before the bad part began.”

“So it’s feeling good right before all the crap falls on your shoulders.” Natsu closed the door behind them.

“Something like that. I wonder why do I have the feeling that I won’t want to wake up tomorrow?” They were going down the stairs.

“Probably because it’s what’s going to happen.” Natsu placed a hand on the doorknob. “Ready?”

“I don’t exactly like it when you say that but, yeah, what else can we do?”

As the door opened they both squinted the eyes at the brightness coming from the large and cheerful room.

“Look, they’re back!”

Mirajane’s distinctive voice was heard, saying, “Tell us what happened.” And was it Natsu’s imagination or did she sound a bit childish? He pushed that thought aside as they were led to sit in strategically placed stools. The four girls (and Happy) looked at them expectantly – well, Erza had her usual calm and patient expression, Levi was just waiting with a closed book between her hands but Lucy and Mira were looking fixedly at them. Not appreciating the feeling of being stared at, Gray conceded, ”They said that my magic was depleted and will need some time to recover, other than that the wounds are on their way to recovery and I’m fine.”

“Yes, and they appointed me to be taking care of him!” Natsu chimed in.

Lucy clapped him on the back with some strength saying, “You don’t have to pretend, we already saw that you’re solved your problem, there’s no need to joke about-“

A confused look appeared on Natsu’s face before he cut her tirade, “Joke? No, I’m being serious here. I’ll help Gray with his recovery…”

When he said that everybody turned to him shocked – even Gray. They hadn’t talked about it! Then Gray quickly composed his face, trying not to look surprised. Instants later, as he knew they would, the girls’ eyes turned at him.

“What?” he just shrugged.

“You do realize that that’s an idea condemned to failure, right? I mean, you and Natsu in close quarters for an undefined period of time?” Lucy was the only one to manage to form a coherent sentence through the shock. Her words shook Erza from her trance. “Of course that it won’t be a problem. They will be fine. But if it troubles you that much we could always go to Gray’s house to check the boys up in the morning or so.”

“That’s a great id-“ she jumped to the floor in the middle of her sentence and stomped on it furiously, “Noo, I have to go to the Celestial Council…” she heard the boys ask in a low voice about it but ranted on, “… first thing in the morning. Why? Oh, why did I have to do it?”

The group exchanged confused glances as she turned to them and placed her hands on her hips, ready to continue her rant.

“Alright… I think it’s time for us to go, right now…” Natsu hopped from the stool and went to grab his bags.

“Yes, you’re right. Let’s go.” Gray grabbed his box to be held in the arm by Mirajane. He quirked an eyebrow. “Don’t you want to eat anything? You went upstairs the moment you got here…” she was on motherly-mode.

A tiny smile appeared on Gray’s lips before he shook his head and broke free from her loose grasp. “No thanks. I’m not hungry and contrary to popular belief I do shop and my cupboards are usually packed with food. If no-one goes there unnoticed, that is…” he threw a pointed look at Natsu who pretended to whistle while looking at the ceiling and polishing his shoe on the fabric of the back of the other leg – it didn’t matter that he was wearing sandals… Gray continued, “But as I _know_ that I’m the last one to leave for a mission, I’m pretty sure that I have enough food for at least tonight and tomorrow.”

“So, that settles it.” Lucy said while stretching. “I will see you all when I return from my trip. See ya…” she walked to the door and disappeared in the darkness beyond the door.

“We should be going too. Happy would you mind staying with Erza tonight, if that’s okay?” Natsu started asking one and ended on the other.

“I don’t mind.” Was Erza’s answer.

“Neither do I but first thing in the morning I’ll be at Gray’s house, aye!” the blue cat seemed to salute the boys.

“We’ll see you tomorrow.” They said in unison while heading to the door.

“’tomorrow!” was the enthusiastic answer by their friends.

The instant the large door closed behind them, the boys were bathed by the moonlight. Gray turned to Natsu, “So, you’ll be helping me?“ he said with a disbelieving snort, “You do know that the girls had a point…”

“Don’t you start with that too. It’s the best choice we have and it will also work as an alibi to the bond, if needed.”

“I may be repeating myself but, who would say that underneath you do have a brain.” He said with a smirk.

Natsu stood with his mouth open for a few seconds before closing it with a click and add, “Just lead the way.”

They left the Guild’s street with a chuckling Gray.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Unbetaed.


	19. Night-time

Natsu waited patiently as Gray fumbled with the keys. Finally the lock turned and they entered a darkened hall.

Gray lived in a street that was transversal to the river that flowed through Magnolia, a couple of blocks from the Guild, so it hadn’t taken long for them to get there.

As Natsu closed the door behind them Gray lit one of the lamps from a coffee table. Natsu let his bags fall to the floor what earned him a scowl from Gray. “I think that you’ve crashed here enough times to know where the spare room is. That’s where you should lay your things.” He turned and, taking the box, entered the door on the right wall – that was the kitchen.

Behind him Natsu scowled and grumbled before holding his bags and head to the far wall that had two doors. He opened the one from the right with a kick (in the background he heard Gray menace him to treat things with more care) and after flicking the illumination switch with his elbow, he dropped the bags to the floor by the door’s wall. Turning back he followed Gray to the kitchen from where metallic noises emanated. He peeked before entering (not entirely sure about Gray’s latest mood) but he came to a calm room, with the open box on top of the table and Gray near the stove where a kettle was heating, most certainly, water. Gray was reading attentively a folded parchment – what Natsu suspected that were the old bat’s instructions.

Deciding that the coast was clear, Natsu entered the room, rubbing his hands, “So… what do you have to eat?”

Gray lifted his head sharply from the paper and folded it even more. “You’re already hungry? Didn’t Mira say that you ate at the Guild?”

“I wouldn’t consider it eat. I mean, what are four dishes but an appetizer?”

Gray had no answer to this so he just rolled his eyes and walked to the table in the middle of the kitchen. He placed the parchment inside the box and tiredly walked to the wall that was opposite to the stove. Natsu just took an instant to look at the stove where the water wasn’t boiling yet and when he looked at Gray, the yellow shirt was missing! ‘Here’s something that we can conclude from all this, Gray’s exhibitionist tendencies weren’t affected.’ He considered with some irony that was replaced by concern as he noticed how Gray’s swiftness was diminishing with every movement he made. He truly was feeling good before having the hell of a recovery, wasn’t he?

“… Natsu? Hey Natsu! You there?” Gray’s voice was coming from the pantry, waking him from his internal musings. He walked to the door where he stood looking at Gray. “Sorry, I was distracted. What were you saying?”

Gray let go a pent up sigh and patiently answered, “I was asking what did you want to eat. I don’t have fresh bread but still have some kinds of meat and fish, hm, sausages and various kinds of cereals and- oh! I still have one of these? Nice!”

Natsu craned his neck to see and – as he didn’t make it – he entered to see what his friend was holding. It was the size of Gray’s hand, fitting perfectly on Gray’s palm. It was pear-shaped and had a dark purple tone at the bottom (where it fit Gray’s hand) that became of a light pink and that was green on the top. It had two yellow leaves and what appeared to be a stick from the tree still attached to the top. It was strange. And was it edible? Natsu had never seen a thing like that – and he ate a lot.

“What’s that?” he asked as a positively exultant Gray started groping the thing. He paused and looked at Natsu.

“Don’t you know this fruit? It’s a gasseigo. It’s very good. I used to eat it a lot-“ his expression closed instantly – all happiness now gone. “Before. I used to eat this before, with my parents and sometimes Ur…”

Not liking to where this conversation was heading to, Natsu quickly tried to change the direction, “So this must be a fruit typical from that area. How did you get it?”

“Well, one of the stores had it and when I saw it I didn’t hesitate and bought a bunch. Thought I had eaten them all. Hope it’s not too ripe…” he answered as he resumed the action of groping the fruit in several places. A whistling sound came from the kitchen and he hurried back, throwing over his shoulder a “You can take whatever you want but don’t forget that we still need things for tomorrow.”

Natsu looked at the door and as Gray’s (surprising) words settled, a smile grew on his face.

As Gray prepared his tea, the sounds coming from the small adjoining room didn’t fail to remind him of a mix between a child left alone in a candy shop and a collapsing building. Shaking his head, he decided to cut the fruit instead. He peeled it and cut it in halves and smaller pieces, the red pulp oozing juice to the dish. Grabbing a mug from the cupboard he poured the tea in it. With the mug in one hand and the dish in the other he sat on the table at the same time that Natsu left the pantry with an armful of food.

Sipping calmly the acrid-tasting tea (and making a grimace at it) he watched as Natsu cooked his food and placed it on the table in front of him. As he sat and dug in, Gray couldn’t help but say, “I see that you helped yourself at your heart’s content…” as he held up a piece of gasseigo and bit it. Natsu stopped mid-bite to answer in a relaxed manner, “Why shouldn’t I? Besides, there’s still plenty of food for tomorrow. And, how’s the fruit? Can I have a bite?”

Gray pushed the dish towards him, “You can have it all.” He cleaned his stained fingers on a napkin and looked at the green-brown liquid in his mug.

A surprised Natsu halted his act of shovelling food to look at Gray and ask, “Have it all? But you haven’t eaten almost anything…” he arched an eyebrow when he saw that Gray was drinking that horrible (if his facial expressions meant something) tea.

“Well, I don’t want to. ‘m not hungry. This vile thing is enough.” He shuddered as he drank yet another big gulp of it.

“Not wanting to contradict you too much but you do know that eating will help you to regain strength faster.” The pile of dishes in front of Natsu was growing steadily. Natsu finally got to the fruit. He tried one of the pieces. It was juicy and sweet but not sickly sweet, it had a slight citric tang. Overall, it was surprisingly good. Natsu cleaned the dish in no time, licking his fingers in the end.

“That was very good. I have to remember it for later…”

Gray finished his tea and placed the mug on the table with decisive force. He stood up and went to the sink to rinse it. “I’m glad you liked. However, I hope you don’t forget to clean what you messed up. I’m beat. See you tomorrow.” He left the room slowly, as if his muscles were leaden and he gave a lazy wave of the hand.

Natsu stretched back and looked at the door. Well, there wasn’t much he could do or say to Gray and he was not about to impose to more than he was already, was he? ‘Maybe…’ he answered himself, ‘If the need arises, of course I will.’ He ended with an absentminded nod. He pilled the stray dishes and left them on the sink. Tomorrow there would be time to take care of them.

The sudden noise of the door closing told him that Gray was already on his room. He left the kitchen and went to knock on his door. “Yes?” was the muffled answer.

“Just wanted to make sure that your bandages are alright.”

“They’re fine. Go to sleep and leave me alone.” Was the dry answer.

“’tomorrow.” Natsu did his things and lay on the bed in the spare room.

He looked at the ceiling, ‘Things are going to be like this… how great…’ he thought without humour.

~^~

_Natsu was standing in the middle of a forest. He looked around. There was something familiar with this place. He looked around once again but only trees came to sight. Starting to move, he walked to a place that was brighter – that turned out to be a clearing. He knew that the trees’ tops, the grass, should be green but everyplace he looked had a strange red in it. How was it possible?_

_A small and strangely shaped rock caught his attention. He_ knew _that rock. He was the one that had made it that way, while training some of his Dragonslayer techniques in it. That meant that he was home? Was he small again? Or was this a dream?_

_Natsu looked down, his hands, his clothes, he had his scarf around his neck. So this was the actual him. Could it be that Igneel was near? If he was in this clearing, Igneel should be uphill, in the caves near the spring of the river that flowed just outside one of the sides of the clearing – he saw its shimmer through some of the trees’ barks. Now that he had located himself he started climbing – he had to see Igneel!_

_That was it. This was his home. But… he couldn’t see Igneel’s body… was he inside the cave, perhaps?_

_Finally getting to the cave’s mouth he peered inside. Nothing, only darkness. This was weird. It couldn’t be…_

_A large shadow flew over him and Natsu instantly looked up. A dark form flew in the sky, in large circles that diminished as it flew higher in the red sky, until it wasn’t but a dot that soon disappeared._

_The whole red that surrounded him started moving, twirling around him and he started falling. He fell and fell, through his memories, his dreams and his nightmares._

_He was gaining speed as he saw some of the good times with Igneel, his fond memories, passing by – so close that if he extended his hand he could touch them. Then these memories evolved into not so good ones such as his finding of his father’s disappearance. All those images and visions began to converge to a single point. Natsu returned to the small hill that he had to climb before getting to the stone platform that led to the cave’s mouth but now the scenery had changed. Igneel’s body had collapsed and was obstructing the river’s flow. The water had to reach a certain level on the up-side before it could flow down the massive body of the dragon. When it reached the ground, the water had a red colour. That was strange and, oh, he could see colours again, it wasn’t all red anymore._

_Wait! So that should mean that the red he saw before… that red couldn’t be… it couldn’t be blood. He refused to believe…_

_At that moment he started running. He had to get there, to the body. But, as much as he ran he was still in the same place, and the body and the small hill were starting to fade, more and more._

_A sharp wind enveloped him and a slender green tail coming from an unknown place cut the air in front of him. Seconds later two white watery ropes circled him, snake-like and, when he least expected, lunged at him._

_His surroundings disappeared and for the second time Natsu felt himself falling._

~^~

Natsu woke up with a start.

He even sat on the bed, with the jump he gave.

Looking around he only saw darkness. What was going to happen next? His hand clenched on the cover and he felt that he was sitting in a soft place, at least. Then he remembered. He was at Gray’s house, not in the forest. It must’ve been a nightmare. Even so – a nightmare about Igneel after all this time? It was very strange, after all, he had “locked” a big part of those memories so what might’ve triggered them? Oh, yeah, the bond. He had told Gray that he would try to remember what Igneel had taught him about them… Even so, that was not enough because if that was the reason the nightmare would’ve held him in its clutches until dawn. No, there had been something else that had triggered it and awoken Natsu. But what?

Then he heard it.

A small choked sound was coming from somewhere nearby.

He turned his head from side to side and decided that it was not coming from his room so he better look for it outside. As soon as he left the room another noise sounded, this one coming from Gray’s room. He stood still and more noises came from the closed door. They were growing in intensity and sounding more and more pained, Natsu realizes.

He opens the door and, through the moonlight that filtered through the blinds he sees Gray’s form on the bed, tossing and turning, tangled in the sheets – that he is gripping desperately – and sweating profusely.

Natsu walks slowly into the room and manages to get a close look at Gray’s face. He notices how pained he looks. Natsu leans on the bed, he even rests one knee on the bed, and puts both hands on Gray’s bare shoulders, trying to still and calm him.

In that precise moment Gray opens his eyes looking up – straight at Natsu’s – unseeing and his hands grip firmly at Natsu’s forearms. Natsu tries, unsuccessfully, to pull them out from the other’s grasp but each pull makes the hands clamp tighter on his arms.

Natsu realizes that by now whatever trick Poluchka made has worn off or at least the good part is over and Gray has just entered the painful stage. He looks around and rhetorically thinks, ‘So this is how it is going to be…’

He pulls one of his arms more forcefully from Gray’s grasp and reaches down to disentangle the bed sheet from Gray’s legs. He pulls it up and lies down on the bed, besides Gray who relaxes slightly, closes his eyes and turns to the side. He holds possessively at Natsu’s arm who by now is pulled over Gray’s form and staying at the level of the latter’s heart.

With the little mobility that the position allows, Natsu manages to pull the sheet to cover them all the way to their shoulders. Letting his head rest on the piece of the pillow that he has managed to pull to himself, Natsu unconsciously tightens his grip on Gray.

His eyes close without his notice and he doesn’t even realize when slumber takes him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Unbetaed.


	20. The Celestial Council

The first train in the morning heading to Era had a rather sleepy eyed Lucy in it. She was sitting in her set of seats, leaning back in company of her two large bags. She was looking through the windows at the landscape that was being slowly illuminated by the rising sun. The pink tint of the sky and landscape didn’t help lifting her sombre mood as she had had to wake up at some ungodly hour and had to go to a place she would rather avoid. She had her arms folded in front of her and was scowling fiercely between yawns.

She leaned on the window and closed her eyes. She might still have time to a small nap – thank the deities that she was a light-sleeper, she couldn’t help thinking as she arranged the bags and finally let sleep take her. The train still had a long way to go.

Lucy was heading to Misia, a small village that was relatively close to Era, more precisely on Era’s north-east. The train she was on just led her to Era so she had to change to another to get to her final destination.

She arrived at Era around lunch-time. As usual, the station was bustling with activity, full of people who were hurrying and getting more impatient by the minute, with hunger. Lucy made her way to the appropriate place for the next train – stopping to buy something to eat – where she had to wait for another half hour for the train to arrive. She sat in one of the benches on the platform and ate her sandwich without tasting it. Her mind was far away, and these thoughts were making her apprehension grow. Lucy looked at all the people that were walking in front of her. Many businessmen passed by, then families some with crying children others with mischievous children that messed around, hindering the station’s workers. Then a group of young women in fashionable wear passed by, giggling and talking about one of the latest idols. Lucy looked at them and contemplated how her life might’ve been if she hadn’t entered the Guild, with all the stress and life threatening missions. Then she caught herself and shook her head, ‘What am I thinking? It’s completely ridiculous that I’m thinking about this now. Fairy Tail has given me a lot more than I could ever hope. There I have a true family. And it doesn’t matter the troubles in which I may have gotten myself into. The same way they would do anything for me, I would do for them!’ she clenched her hands (her left one coming around the foil that had enveloped her sandwich) in determination. Her contemplation had taken long enough (or at least she had abstracted perfectly from time) as the train had just arrived. She grabbed her bags and headed towards the doors and nearly crashed into a tall man that – she didn’t fail to notice – was from Blue Pegasus Guild. She left that thought slide to the recesses of her mind as she had more pressing matters to worry about, besides, people of any Guild had every right to be here or at any other place for that matter.

She sat in the slightly uncomfortable train seats. Now she couldn’t relax as only a trip of one hour and a half separated her from, presumably, dire consequences. With numb hands she reached to the letter they had sent her. She read it for the nth time, the paper now slightly crumpled. As before, the contents failed to comfort her. Not that it was an aggressive letter, no. On the contrary, it was a very cordial one that required her presence for the periodic analysis of her spirits and that she needed to do her proper registration, now that she had entered to a Guild. Of course that this wasn’t all, there was a lot in the underlines that was in a code specifically accorded between the Celestial mages. That was the part that she didn’t want to read about, the part in which the writer of the missive nearly screamed at her because of the undue use of sacred contents. Lucy closed her eyes and at the same time, the letter (with more force than necessary). Having read the signature and knowing the mage, she could almost hear the voice of the man and his face snarling at her. With a sigh she put back the letter. There was no way around it and curse her for giving them a reason to call her out (as she hadn’t returned there to properly register) but she was pretty sure that they would have found another reason to call her as she had done quite a serious act. There wasn’t really any way around it and Lucy only could present her case and plead and hope that the consequences weren’t too grave. But what could she do about this feeling of defeat?

Her depressing musings dragged her spirit down and only just as the train was getting to Misia (she recognized the fields) did she snap out of it. That wouldn’t do! She was going to have enough people trying to pull her down when she arrived – she didn’t have to get there already defeated. And, specially, that wasn’t Fairy Tail’s way!

The train came to a halt and a confident Lucy hopped out of it (as much as she could with the bags, of course). She was going to overcome this new battle and come out victorious, no matter what may come her way. A small and bald man was holding a small sign with her name, he was her chauffeur. Greeting him with a nod she gave him the bags and followed him to the carriage.

On her way to the estate, as she was looking out the window, they passed by many cultivated fields, several with series of country folk working in them. They also passed by some farms with some less pleasant smells. Here and there were small agglomerates of houses and she finally saw it, the majestic gates that led to the estate. This small province worked to provide everything necessary to the Celestial mages that had made their residence inside the estate. And one could say how lucky they were to be living in such an enormous place.

The carriage crossed the gates, with an approving glance from the guard. They continued through the middle of the dense forest, until they got to the front mansion. The carriage stopped moving and Lucy braced herself. This was it.

The door opened and a hand was extended to help her climb down of it. As soon as her feet touched the ground she couldn’t help but look up at her know large white pillars and monumental wooden door. Two forms crossed the door and headed to her, one with a large smile and the other looking at her with a superior look. The pair stopped at the top of a pristine white set of stairs, their white robes flowing gently with the breeze. “Sister.” The slightly smaller and chubbier man greeted. He had a small beard and his short dark hair had some grey hairs here and there. He looked at her with warm brown eyes. Lucy climbed the stairs and joined them, “Brother, sister…” Lucy answered while she cringed internally. She hated all these formalisms and the whole set of rituals. The female had yet to speak (or change her posture for that matter) but she just continued standing there and looking at Lucy, taking notice of her every movement. ‘So this must be the new acquisition of the higher-ups of the council, the Celestial mage Peribeia.’ She looked at the thin woman that had her arms crossed and looked at her from her aquiline nose and through cold brown eyes, her hair in a tight bun. ‘Irks, it looks like she has been eating something sour and her face froze in disgust. But I don’t like her… watching like a hawk, at every move I make. It appears that I’ll have to thread even more carefully than expected. How comforting…’ she thought as the shorter man – Hilas – she remembered from her prior visit, led her inside. They walked through the dark doors and got to an enormous hall, with two sets of stairs in opposite sides of the room. Hilas led her to the left staircase and from there to the room that had been appointed to her. “I think you remember the procedures. You’ll have the rest of the day to rest and read. Tomorrow you’ll have to purify yourself before going to your audience.” He went to join Peribeia leaving Lucy standing at the door of her room. With a sigh, she grabbed the door handle as the two figures walked away, and entered her room. Glancing around the room she found what she expected, a large and decadent-looking bed shrouded in expensive white linens and the wood in the bedroom – the headboard, bedside tables, closet doors, chaise longue and coffee table – was the exquisite (and expensive) sandino wood, imported from the forest of Delidas in the south-west. Her bags waited patiently for her at the foot of the bed. If Lucy had to say something about the servants it would be that they moved quickly – then again, who wouldn’t, having to be at the mercy of some of these spoiled-rotten mages? Shaking her head she closed the door behind her and hurried to unpack.

One of the things that grated her senses in all the times she had come here was the whole whiteness thing. She got it, but couldn’t they find a suitable palette of colours – pastels or whatever – that wouldn’t clash with it _and_ add much needed colour? ‘Whatever.’ She thought while taking out her two ritual gowns, and laid them on the bed. ‘Which one should I choose…’ she paused for a moment, looking at the dresses and thinking of various possibilities. Finally coming to a decision she grabbed her necéssaire and went to the adjoining bathroom. She didn’t take long to refresh herself and put on the chosen dress. Looking at her reflection in the wardrobe mirror she couldn’t help but smile a little. Despite not liking to come here, both these dresses were beautiful – and in this case the white wasn’t a problem – and she looked amazing in them. If there was something good out of all this it was the fact that she looked gorgeous ‘As usual.’ She couldn’t help but add. It was a pity that this was her only possibility to wear them.

Somewhere outside a bell rang.

Leaving the room she headed to the library, appreciating the calm and the fact of not crossing paths with many resident mages. She had to calm herself and there wasn’t nothing like the huge library to calm her.

She crossed another set of regal doors and instantly a sigh of relief escaped her lips. Here the problems from the outside didn’t reach, there was only peace, tranquillity and a whole lot of books to read and study. But she was here only for the reading part.

She walked through the bookshelves, looking for a suitable book that would distract her until dinner time. She came across _The Darkened Path of the Ancients_ , a book about the beginnings of the Celestial mages, the very beginnings of their history.

Holding it she headed to the plush armchairs under the large and tall windows with heavy drapes. At least here in the library the colour scheme screamed “earth”, with assorted browns and beiges.

It didn’t take long until she was immersed in the somewhat sombre and speculative writings of the authors.

Outside the sky grew dark as time went by.

Lucy didn’t know how much time had passed but a presence looming over her started her from the book and she looked up inquiringly. “Yes…?”

“Excuse me miss, but it’s dinner time. All the guests are to be reunited in the dinning room. Would you care to follow?” the servant nodded politely and walked to the door. Lucy looked at the page she was in once again, before closing the book and placing it in a nearby table and followed him. They descended to the main floor where she was led through a few maze-like corridors until the door in question. She thanked the servant and entered.

The conversations in the room took a momentary pause as they looked at the newcomer but were quickly resumed as it wasn’t such an unusual thing to happen. Lucy made eye contact with a few people before sitting in one of the vacant places. The female that was on her right side started chatting quickly, presenting herself and talking animatedly about a number of things that included politics, fashion and good old gossip. Lucy relaxed and with a smile answered her questions and added some bits of gossip. As the meal progressed so did the questions.

“And, what are you doing here, after all?” she asked while taking a bit of bread to dip in the sauce. Lucy paused before answering, “Registering and updating some things and I have an audience with Hilas’ group. Nothing much. And you Egeria? What are you doing here?” her interlocutor almost didn’t let her finish the question, answering right away. “Registering, heh? That’s always a bore. I’m here to study the _Rictus Arcandia Chant IX_. I’m in a study group that comprehends around half the people here.”

“Your group’s around thirty people? Why do you need that many people if that compendium only comprehends six sections?”

“You know what they say. To study this we need a lot of people to understand this better and come to a better conclusion. Soon you’ll read our conclusions in the next semester’s magazine.”

“Sure, I’ll be pleased to read about it.”

“Oh, and did you notice the high disturbance felt on the spirit world? It was huge and there aren’t records of a thing like that in the last century.” She didn’t notice how Lucy’s smile faded as she continued, “The higher-ups sent people to search for it in the records and affirmed that they would discover the reasons and have been questioning a bunch of mages. But that’s none of our business, right?” she caught Lucy’s blank nod by the corner of her eye and she took that as a signal to continue talking, “And what do you think of the Heliocsupo Garden? Did you notice how they changed the main colour? Thank the skies; I couldn’t stand it if they went with white again. There’s enough of it here already. I don’t know about you but I would go mental if I lived here…” and she kept on and on, filling the blank spaces and allowing Lucy to speak less and less as the night advanced. Some time later dinner ended and the groups spread in various directions. Lucy went to the part of the estate that held the offices – that were open until late in the night – and when she got to the door that had “Registration” sign in a brass plate she knocked on it. A muffled voice answered and she entered. A dark-skinned man was in front of a bookcase and placing a thick volume in one of the higher shelves. “Yes? How can I help you?” he turned to shake her hand after placing the book.

“I came to update my file.”

“Very well,” he was all business-like now, “name, please.”

“Lucy Heartfilia.” She watched as he left to the room to, supposedly, go to the archive room and get her file. She decided to sit in the chair that was in front of the desk. A small metal plate had the name Cyclospek Neaira was on the left side of a neatly organized desk. The man didn’t take long and returned with a dark blue covered book. Sitting he opened it and went to the last log. Then he turned piercing grey eyes at her and said, “So, how many new spirits do you have?” quill in hand.

Lucy provided the list and answered to all the questions and the ones related to the Guild. She saw as he scribbled and took some side notes. When he finished he shook her hand once again and she left.

When Lucy returned to her room she breathed in relief, this first day hadn’t gone so badly, after all, she thought while getting ready to bed. She was a bit comforted with that however when she climbed to the bed she couldn’t help but remember that the bad part was yet to come, in the next day. With difficulty she fell to an agitated slumber.

~^~

The next morning, not long before dawn, had Lucy dressed in white dressing-gown and flimsy nightgown underneath and heading, through the back garden, to the sacred garden – a secluded place that held a majestic temple sprouting from the trees – the place for their most secret rituals. She was crossing the alley that had twenty columns in the front and crossing one of the arches that led to a cloister.

“Sister.” A crystalline female voice called behind her. It was Ida, one of the Celestial mages that resided here.

“Sister.” Greeted Lucy in return. The red-haired woman who had a flowing mane that fell to the middle of her back (and that had a beauty mark under her right eye) held out her hands and Lucy gave her the dressing-gown. She followed the lean figure covered in white (that gave such a contrast with her hair) as they went inside the temple.

“To which Gate?”

“The one of the Vision.” Ida agreed and after hanging the dressing-gown in the designed place she took Lucy to a small door.

“May your road touch the sky.” Were her last words while opening the door and holding it for Lucy to cross.

Not liking it but being in ritual mode already, Lucy answered, “In the end as in the beginning…” while entering this new room.

Behind her the door closed, leaving the room almost in the darkness, only lit by two small torches that had a blue fire. There was a square on the floor that also emanated a weak blue.

Knowing that this was the part in which she was supposed to meditate, Lucy knelt on the floor and, holding her keys, closed her eyes and let herself go.

Some time later a door opened in the wall in front of her. The clarity made her open her eyes, get up and cross that door. She looked around but found that, as expected, was alone. Then she looked properly at the room. It looked like the ancient baths. There was a what looked like a swimming pool – but was certainly a cold bath; a hot bath with bubbling waters, statues and sculptures from important sculptors were set in strategic places to be admired, two areas of chairs and chaises longues were turned to the garden and the ceiling was held by columns of almancina stone (she had noticed the small pink and blue lines when she walked near one). Of course that the colour of the room was white…

As she stepped in the first part of the ritual near the first chairs she saw more clearly how the two baths (and consequential chairs) were separated by a subtly highlighted way that went to the lush garden adorned with more statues and allegoric sculptures. Well, Lucy couldn’t spend the day here admiring the view so she took off her sandals and walked down the small set of stairs of the hot bath, the bubbles massaging her body. After crossing the whole length of the bath she climbed the stairs and crossed to the cold bath where she acted the same way. If she recalled correctly, this stage was meant to purify the mage and the waters had the ability to harm a mage that had committed a wrong act. When she left the cold bath a plush white bathrobe was waiting for her in one of the chairs. Not liking the feeling of the nightgown sticking to her body Lucy dressed it quickly, taking the time to dry her keys carefully. Then she continued to the next room.

The dress she had chosen to wear today was waiting patiently in a rack by a dressing table. A couple of towels were on the chair and, with everything at her reach, Lucy got ready for the next stage. She dried herself and sat in front of the mirror, applying some light make-up, then dressed the gown. To finish she brushed her hair and decided to let it fall down her shoulders. To end the ensemble she tied up the necklace, adjusted the final pieces of the dress and locked her keys in a small belt that circled her waist. She was ready.

Lucy left the room and came to a corridor that only had a door at the end of it. She got there and knocked on the door – she was starting to get nervous, no, _very_ nervous.

It opened and a serious-looking Hilas opened it. She entered and faced the group of five, six mages (when Hilas sat at Peribeia’s left side) on the long table that occupied the room.

“Celestial mage of the fifth rang, Lucy Heartfilia, we are here gathered to discuss your use of the sacred and forbidden star powder. Do you have any objection?” the words rang strong and clearly in the room.

Lucy stood in front of those attentive eyes and, hoping for the best, answered, “No, I don’t object.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Unbetaed.


	21. Punishment

It was never easy to be in a position where you would be under intense scrutiny. Unfortunately for Lucy, she was. The eyes were riveted on her as the man at the right end of the table, a medium sized and tanned with short brown hair, was reading;

“Twenty helictial hours ago (1) a great disturbance hit the spirit world. The exact motives are unknown however the pull has already been described in the annals and the reason for it is the use of certain artefacts given to mages when they attain a certain rang. The last reported entry of this kind is from the era of the war that decimated a vast number of celestial mages, before the creation of the Celestial Council. The sky lines pointed to the south-east of Fiore where we were informed that the mage Lucy Heartfilia, who belongs to the Fairy Tail Guild and is in possession of aforementioned artefacts, was at the time. It leads us to the conclusion that she used said artefacts, more precisely the star powder, for an unknown reason, and extracted vital force from the spirit world. We’re gathered here to come to a decision on her punishment.” He laid down the parchment and, taking off the glasses, looked up.

Hilas looked at Lucy and said, “Now that the case is exposed you may give us your side of the story and, having it in mind we’ll consider your punishment. I remind you that the use of the star powder is strictly forbidden and should only be used as last resource. What happened? And may the skies vastness guide us…” he left his hands fall on the table after being raised – palms up – as he said the ritualistic words.

Standing in front of these people, Lucy’s courage faltered and her façade almost crumbled but her left hand touched her keys as she was about to hold her hands in front of herself. The cold touch of metal and the tiny jingle that they made gave Lucy the courage that had tried to evade her. In that moment she felt that her spirits had her back and she was not all alone in this, after all. She opened her mouth and in a clear and unwavering (how was that possible?) voice said, “It is true that I broke one of the sacred rules, one that should only be broken in the worst case scenario. And I am well aware that it also breaks the trust that was invested in me as a fifth rang mage, however, it was a life or death situation and I used it as my last resource – conjoined with the silver key of the Dragon-“ at her words all the other mages, except Hilas and Peribeia who kept their stern attitude, started to whisper furiously and some of them were excited even. Hilas cleared his throat and they stopped, with a raised eyebrow he turned at her. “You couldn’t have done that. The magic that allows that isn’t of the knowledge of the fifth rang.” He let his elbows rest on the table, steepled his fingers and spoke from behind them, “Maybe your desperation was high enough and made it work for you… No, that can’t be right…” he muttered and with a shake of the head beckoned, “But carry on, carry on…” he asked as he placed his chin on his fingers.

Lucy assented gravelly and continued, “As I was saying, I was in a mission that ended in a ritual being performed to bring back to life an immense and awful monster. It was resurrected and we – me and my group – had to destroy it before the village, and probably others later, was plunged into chaos and destruction. We were losing the battle because not only the monster was enormous but there were also enemies from the, we might call it, cult that tried to stop us, evidently. We did take care of them but to stop the monster the star powder was the only solution.”

“So you threw the powder and called the Dragon…” asked the woman on Peribeia’s right side (that had wavy brown hair and green eyes).

“Yes, could you explain the process?” the same man that had read the information before asked.

“Hm… I called forth the Dragon-“ her words didn’t fail to fill the room with barely hidden enthusiasm – Lucy knew that Draco’s key was rare but this was ridiculous … “… and I took the minimal amount of star powder that I could. Then I blew it towards Draco – the Dragon, I mean. It covered him and the properties worked as I expected them to…”

“You mean that you just blew it…? How far was it?”

Lucy blinked and, suspiciously, answered, “I-I don’t know, I mean, he was flying and was probably three/four meters above-“

“You’re serious?! He was flying?” the man nearly shouted.

“Calm down Eto. And you had a contract with the key since when?” the man with olive dark skin, black hair and a goatee that was sitting on the other end of the table asked.

“The contract?” Lucy blinked once again, clearly confused. “I made it the day, I mean, night before-“

“What!?”

“She’s lying…”

“Don’t joke around, kid.”

The room became chaotic and that was a thing that Lucy wasn’t expecting in the least. She was left without reaction and not even the accusation of being a liar phased her out. ‘What the-? I truly didn’t see this one coming…’

A couple of words barked by Peribeia restored an apparent calm to the room. For the first time since meeting Lucy, her voice sounded, “Calm down! Basically you just used the powder because there was no way else and to worsen the situation you handled it with only your gut feeling… Is that correct?”

“Yes… I used it with all my knowledge-“

“That in this matter is close to none…” she counteracted in a haughty tone.

“Yes, but… well, all worked out in the end…”

“How dare you-“ Peribeia pushed at the table brusquely and got up. Her calm and haughty composure were now completely out the window and she was positively seething, “How dare you say that when you have no knowledge-“ she stopped abruptly and looked at Hilas who had a hand on her arm to try to calm her down. He almost forced her to sit back down and she threw him a meaningful look. He just shook his head. Turning to Lucy he said, “What I think that Peribeia was trying to say is that you were very lucky. You were lucky to end up doing the right procedure (or something along those lines) completely by instinct and the result was the natural – as the elders wrote – pull in the spirit world. However the outcome might’ve not been this one and you could have thrown us into an exponentially worse situation than the one you were in. And in that case, may the deities help us, we couldn’t have done anything. You could have plunged us into an age of darkness as predicted…”

Lucy gulped at these words. She hadn’t know that her actions might have been so dangerous.

She had just worked with what felt right at the time…

Hilas sat heavily on his chair, sighing, “Eto take her to the ante-room. We now need to deliberate her punishment.”

Lucy nodded and followed the man. The whispers she could hear in her back didn’t appear to be in her favour… at all.

When she entered the small room and the door clicked shut behind her, her lips set in a grim line. More white!! How she wanted to throw the plush chairs out the window and break the table that was in the middle of the four chairs to splinters that she would like to throw at Peribeia’s face and see how many would stick in that hard skin. No, maybe it would be better to just grab the table top and hit her in the face with it. Lucy now had her fists clenched hard and lips set in a feral smile, her white teeth showing. She headed to one of the chairs, yes, it was better if she sat down. With a shaky step her keys jingled once more. Now that had been strange. Lucy’s first thoughts usually didn’t set towards violence but now – just thinking of Peribeia made her blood boil and she wanted to break something. Sitting heavily in her chosen chair, a hand came to her hair as she was almost doubled on the chair. ‘I’m hanging with the wrong crowd or what? Since when do I want to smash something so badly that it almost hurts? I don’t recognize myself anymore…’ then she let of a mirthless laugh while she leaned back in the chair, both hands coming to rest in the armrests, ‘At least maybe Natsu would be proud of me if he saw me now.’ She threw her bangs away from her eyes distractedly. ‘I wonder how those two are… If they haven’t throttled each other yet. No, if their good mood continues maybe that will only happen today or maybe tomorrow. And I won’t be there to see them… And what the hell is going to happen to me?’ she grabbed her keys from the belt and held them in a position that could be almost considered as someone praying, keys resting between both hands and eyes closed. At least the comforting presence of her spirits would help her overcome these problems. She only hoped that they let her go back home soon. A cynical smile was on her face – she missed more her house in Magnolia than the one that should be _her_ home. A key twitched as if trying to confirm that she was alright and it was in that moment that the door opened.

“You may return.” Said the same man from before, she recognized the voice as she was with her back to the door.

Taking a moment to compose herself she carefully stood up and placed her keys in the belt, then smoothed some creases on the dress and exited the ante-room.

The room she returned to had a heavy atmosphere – that showed that the argument had been a heated one. That and the heavy frowns that all the members of the table had.

“Lucy Heartfilia, as you know the use of these artefacts is forbidden in its utmost extension. We, as representatives of the council, understand that it was used as a last resource and there are several attenuating circumstances. However, you’re still to be punished. Do you agree?”

Lucy had to fight a bit to find her voice but then she managed a slightly squeaky “Yes, hm, I agree…” while praying to every deity she remembered that they wouldn’t do the worst option.

“As attenuating circumstance we have the fact that you used it as your last option in a case in which, if not used, not only the balance of the spirits’ world would tip but it would also affect the larger balance of magic. That was a good call. The fact that without knowing almost anything of the mechanisms of using the star powder you pulled it off – and this shows us what a talented and powerful young mage you are. This way we are to propose you to advance in rang and so do the first trial to that new position. Do you agree?”

Not expecting in any way the compliment, Lucy just nodded numbly and uttered an “I agree…”

“Perfect. You’ll do it in the afternoon .”

“Already-! I mean, this afternoon already?” Lucy’s shocked expression receded a little as she remembered that she was to remain stoic.

A slightly smirking Peribeia caught her eye and answered, “You’ll be provided with food when you go to the Touch Area after this. You are to meditate and your opponent will meet you there.” A dangerous glint appeared in her eyes.

“As you’re progressing in your knowledge we can’t have you using techniques that you don’t comprehend – and you may not be that lucky again. It’s safer if you know more about all this but I have confidence that you won’t do that again.” Hilas said and when he caught the way Peribeia was looking at Lucy his expression became somewhat apologetic – to harden again as he pronounced his next words, “Now, for your punishment, you are to be without access to your keys and spirits for two months. As you are in a Guild and your income comes from the missions you do, you’ll have some drawbacks and this will teach you not to disobey important rules. Understood?”

“Yes, sir.” Lucy couldn’t help but wonder if they didn’t have something (bad) on their sleeve because this punishment was strange. Too mild. It would only make her some sort of discomfort not be something that would mark her with a ‘never to repeat’ feeling. But she had to admit to herself how she had liked to see that annoyed expression on Peribeia’s face. It was slightly satisfying but she tensed as the other’s brown eyes hardened and an almost imperceptible smirk appeared on her face. Those weren’t good news, Lucy was sure.

“Alright, so before you leave for your Guild you have to go to the offices’ area to the Aqueronte(2) room. They will take care of it and lock your keys.”

“And when the time of my punishment ends?”

“One of our emissaries will come by your Guild and do the small ritual of release. With that said, we’ll see you later. Under the sky scrutiny, you are dismissed.” He made a wave with his hand and Lucy bowed and left the room. A whole new set of doors that weren’t in the corridor before appeared and they had some inscriptions over. She decided to go to the Leisure room where hopefully the meal would be. She was starting to get hungry.

~^~

The Leisure room was surprising. First of all, it wasn’t white! Lucy almost gave a joyous whoop before remembering that it wouldn’t do. She contended with a sigh. She walked to the second set of chairs, the ones that were near the arcades of the windows and flopped into one of the chaises longues. The room was ample (or should she say huge?), a first storey one and the windows area entered the forest so the trees’ tops were very close to the windows and all that gave a feeling of protection an coolness. And the room tried to emulate the feeling with several shades of green and brown. There were six sets of five chairs around each table, four of the sets were under the windows and the other two were more to the inside, with plenty of room in-between each set. Lucy had come from one door and saw another at the other end of the room (to her left) where were three long dinner tables. On her right was a wall full of bookshelves and one had a large amount of material suitable for writing. She got up, walked around the table and went to the window, leaning on the wall that was covered with a deep green curtain. She watched the quiver of leaves on the wind and how focuses of sunlight appeared and disappeared with the leaves’ movement. This beautiful sight, however, couldn’t calm her inner turmoil.

Behind her a throat was cleaned and she hadn’t heard anyone enter the room. Lucy turned and was shocked when she saw Loke sitting in the chair she had previously occupied, waving at her.

“Hey there!”

“Lo-Loke? What are you doing here? I didn’t call you and-and you don’t have a reason to be out here. How did you do it? I mean-“

“Hey! Hey! Breathe first and calm yourself then we’ll talk. Here, maybe you should eat something first.” He handed her a glass (with an exquisite form – hey, was it crystal?) of water. She gulped it down and started coughing. Loke got up and started patting her back. He took her to one of the chaises longues and sat besides her.

“Go ahead, dig in.”

Lucy grabbed a fork and pulled one of the dishes to her lap (it wouldn’t do to stain the dress) and carefully started eating the sautéed stake with mushrooms, salad and rice.

“I am here because we sensed your inner turmoil and figured that you had come before the council.” His mild smile dropped as he remembered certain unpleasant things. “These lazy bastards. They’re corrupt, you know that right?”

Lucy looked at him expectantly, chewing. When she swallowed she placed the fork on the dish and turned slightly to him, leaning in the armchair, “What do you mean?”

“I mean that some spirits talk in the spirit world – there are some places where we can do that and mingle to our heart’s content, and I can tell you that some spirits of prominent Celestial mages knew of what Karen did to Aries. I’m sure that some of the top’s mages knew about it and didn’t do anything about it or maybe Karen bribed them. Anyway, they are no good and by your posture I can imagine you’re not too fond of them. What happened? Is it because of Draco and your extreme pull at our magic?” Lucy’s sullen expression was all the answer he needed. “So, what did they do?” he got up and sat in the other chaise longue. Lucy took her time to look at Loke. It had been a while since she had seen him so he looked a bit different, his hair was slightly longer, he didn’t have sunglasses but his piercings and rings were still in place. He was wearing a red long-sleeved shirt and dark grey pants. At least he was doing alright even if these things he just said were disturbing. Could that be true? She pushed these thoughts aside, “On the punishment part, my keys will be _locked_. I guess that’s something that won’t allow me to summon you.” She stopped when he whistled. “What?”

“Have you thought about what the other spirits will say? For instance, Aquarius will be furious at first then go on holidays with her boyfriend – and maybe do a double holiday. Hm, she might not be that mad…”

“You think? I wish I could avoid telling her about it altogether…”

“She will know but do as you prefer. And you said on the punishment part, does it mean that there’s something more?” Lucy turned at him her legs folded under her and her arms crossed and answered. ”Well, you won’t believe it but they say that they want to begin my trials to the next rang.”

“And?” asked Loke while stealing a small melon ball and popping it into his mouth.

“And the problem is that going up a rang is very, very difficult. I was remembering and you should’ve heard what they say about it…”

“Nonsense, it can’t be that bad. There are plenty of upper level mages, I don’t see how you can’t be one of them.”

Lucy bit her lower lip while looking at her lap, her hands clenched in the fabric, “I don’t know…”

“But I do. All your spirits have complete trust in your abilities. You just have to give the orders and we will follow…” he leaned to her and held her hand, a smile on his face and humour on his voice, “… with more or less temper tantrums…” this managed to put a smile on her face. “Seriously, you don’t have to be scared that we’ll support you in every step.” He smiled at her and tightened slightly the hold in her hand.

“You’re right. Thanks.” She smiled back at him. “And how did you get out here?”

“Anytime. And this place has some strange property and the line between your and our world thins. That’s how I managed to come out.” He got up and gave a slight bow, his body beginning to dissipate in a red mist, “I’ll see you soon.” He said before disappearing.

Now feeling a lot more relieved Lucy just muttered an “Alright.” before turning back to the table and, now with appetite, eat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (1) – helictial hours are used in the sacred rituals of the Celestial Council. In this case, as the incident happened 5 days ago the math goes like this: 5 days correspond to 120 hours and when divided by 6 (that comes from the half of the major constellations and is a multiple of the perfect number) equals 20 helictial hours.  
> (2) Aqueronte – from the Greek means ‘the one that drags the pains’
> 
>  
> 
> Unbetaed.


	22. The Morning After

The sun was rising and entering a certain room through a gap in the half-closed blinds, not even the curtains, that that were swaying gently with the wind, were able to stop it. The room was slowly being illuminated and the two slumbering forms were still out for the world.

The sounds of people outside raised one of these persons from much needed sleep. It was time to wake up.

Gray felt himself stir awake, noticing the familiar sounds and smells of his surroundings. He gave a contented sigh and got ready to go to sleep again so he grabbed the pillow he was holding a little harder and pulled it more to himself. Hm, somehow this situation and some particular feeling were oddly familiar… When the pillow gave a gentle squeeze to his hand he decided that something _very_ strange was happening. A small groan escaped his lips as he opened his eyes fractionally and inclined his head so that he was looking at his hand. He saw that it was clasping another hand, a tanned hand? That continued to a tanned arm that was – he pulled a bit at the hand and felt the arm move – across his waist? What the hell was going on?

That’s when the rest of his senses decided to awake and make themselves known, pain coursing through his body in such a way that Gray’s eyes snapped open and his mouth opened in a pained gasp. His body’s instant reaction at this was to arch back. Gray clenched his teeth – hard – to try to contain the whimper that was threatening to escape, his body now adopting a fetal position. Despite this world of pain that had crashed upon him, Natsu’s steady breathing on his ear continued and this presence had the ability to abstract Gray from his grieving – if only for instants, the mind overpowered the rest. ‘What the hell is Natsu doing here?’ a hiss left him as another wave of pain coursed through him, this one making it feel as if large vices were clamping on his legs and squeezing every inch of them.

Behind him Natsu mumbled something (that suspiciously seemed to have Gray’s name in it) and, by his movements, seemed to be waking up. Unfortunately Gray couldn’t turn around and ask him what he was doing in bed with him, as stupid pain was immobilizing him and almost impeaching him from breathing – now it felt as if the skin of his arms was being pulled off and some liquid was being poured to the flesh, making his arms sting and then burn painfully. Gray closed his eyes once again, and willed the pain to recede, to be able to feel his numb hands and _do_ something to give some sort of relief like covering his arms with a layer of ice.

Far, far away the bed moved and a voice was asking him something. Gray was unable to hear due to the pain.

~^~

Natsu woke up and, strangely, was able to pull his arm from Gray’s form.

Sitting on the bed, he rubbed his eyes while yawning. Well, the night hadn’t been that bad from the moment he had come to Gray’s room. And talking about Gray, he shouldn’t be here having absentminded thoughts while he should be taking care of him. Natsu turned on the bed and what he saw made him frown.

Gray was curled up tightly, the bed sheet covering his lower body and he had his hands balled fiercely in front of his face. The muscles of the back and arm (the one that he could see) were taut and from time to time a slight tremble ran through his frame, probably due to the strain caused by the position. Natsu had to do something. “But what can I do?” he muttered.

Cautiously he got up from the bed and circled it to stand in front of Gray, where he could see his face. The expression on his face was extremely pained.

Gulping, Natsu leaned towards him and placed a hand on Gray’s right shoulder – very lightly. He was completely taken unawares by Gray’s reaction, the body jerking in such a way that he ended on his back on the bed and screaming in pain. Gray’s eyes were wide open and glazed with pain. Natsu bit his lip. He had to do something to help him, to snap him out of there… Maybe the tea could help with the pain. But he couldn’t leave the room and Gray like that, could he?

Quickly coming to a decision, he grabbed Gray’s shoulders, very lightly and, giving a small shake, tried to wake Gray.

The screams decreased in intensity the longer Natsu held Gray. Finally his eyes cleared and Natsu ended up with a Gray that was in pain but awake.

“Gray, can you hear me?” Natsu moved his hands along the other’s arms while he waited for an answer.

“N-“ Gray turned his head to the other side to cough violently, “Na-Natsu? Wha- whassap’ning?” he looked up with pleading eyes.

“Shhh… It’s ok. I just need to take care of your tea and you’ll be feeling better, ok? But I need to know your condition…” he looked anxiously at his friend.

“It-it hurts. E-everything. Gods, it hurts so much…” Gray’s choked whimpers pierced the silence of the room at the same time that he tried to fight against his body and bit his lower lip to stifle the pained sobs that were trying to come out. He bit the lip with such force that blood dribbled from it.

“Gray, Gray! Listen to me. You’re going to be alright, you hear me?” As Gray shook his head in a negative way – eyes firmly shut – Natsu didn’t hesitate and kneeled on the bed, holding Gray’s head in his palms. “Look at me, Gray, just-just listen to me,” he waited as Gray was opening his eyes, a few stray tears flowing down his cheeks, “Yes, that’s it. Listen to me. You’re going to be fine and you can be sure that I won’t let you down. You just have to hang in there for now… You hear me?” he brushed one of the tears with his thumb as he felt Gray nod very slowly and breathe through gritted teeth, “I’ll try…” before letting go of a soft exhale.

Natsu laid him back down on the bed and got up, “Now I’ll go get your tea. It’ll be just an instant, alright?” he didn’t wait for an answer and ran to the kitchen. He grabbed the kettle from the sink and filled it with water. Not one to be patient and wait for it to boil on the stove, Natsu went to the front of the stove and flames sprouted from his hands, the water boiling in no time. Natsu placed the kettle on the stove and, wiling the flames away, turned to the table where the box was. He pulled out the flaps and rummaged through the various vials, small pouches and boxes, the folded parchment (that was what he was looking for) had fallen to the bottom of the box.

Cursing under his breath he grabbed it and hastily opened it, looking for instructions. He followed them and in no time the tea was ready. As it was the first day she also advised to add a pinch of the herbs from a certain pouch – what almost threw Natsu into a fit. Was there any use in all this stuff being so complicated in a time of need?

When everything was ready Natsu almost ran out the kitchen, and just as he crossed the door did he look at the mug. The tea hadn’t settled for enough time so it was still pretty hot. Way too hot for Gray, at least, of that Natsu was sure. So he had to go back to the kitchen and look for some ice to try to cool it down. Natsu placed the mug on the counter and headed to the refrigerator where he found some ice cubes. He grabbed a bunch of them and threw them to the mug where they instantly melted. Well, this was better than nothing, right? He finally got the mug and returned to the room – he was feeling a little antsy while Gray wasn’t in his sight. Was this a sign from something from the bond or plain concern for his friend? When he entered the room Natsu noticed that Gray hadn’t moved since his departure. Placing the mug on the bedside table, Natsu sat on the bed and touched lightly on the forearm nearest to him. Gray roused from wherever he was and looked meekly at him. Natsu plastered a small smile on his face and said, “I brought you the tea. Let’s just lift you a bit and you can go back to your rest.” And lifted him gently to rest against the headboard, with a couple of pillows to make him more comfortable. After assessing that Gray was sitting in a comfortable position he placed the mug in his hands. Gray looked quizzically at him. “What?” asked a slightly confused Natsu. A mirthless smirk came to Gray’s lips and he, very slowly and with some effort, raised his hands and Natsu (who thankfully hadn’t let go of the mug) saw how they were quivering. “Oh, sorry.” He said, slightly embarrassed. “And what do you propose we do? You need to drink this tea.”

The smirk evolved into a sardonic smile, “A straw, maybe? I thinks there’s one on the cutlery drawer.” He hadn’t finished his sentence and Natsu had already placed the mug on the bedside table and ran to the kitchen. In what looked like no time but felt like a year, Natsu had returned to the room and dropped the straw on the mug. He sat on the bed and presented it to Gray. After some awkward instants with a runaway straw (Natsu had had to hold it for Gray), he took the first gulp and his eyes widened while he let go of the straw to splutter some drops as he coughed.

“Are you trying to burn me, you dumbass? That thing is blazing hot!” he was slapping weakly on Natsu’s extended arm and his punches were so weak that the liquid barely stirred.

“Hey! It’s not my fault. I did put some ice and to tell you the truth this feels quite cold.”

“Yeah, as if I could trust you about th-aat…” he gasped and almost doubled over – he was steered by Natsu’s hand on his shoulder. “I’m ok, I’m ok,” he said after a while, “just give me that wretched tea.” Natsu held out the mug again and watched, surprised, as Gray drank it quickly. He placed it down again and looked at Gray, puzzled, “Didn’t you just complain that the tea was too hot?”

A shrug was his answer, “Yeah, so? Now it was at the right temperature. Big deal.” He looked at the curtain that had been raised by a gust of wind, “Help me lie down? I want to sleep…” he asked pleadingly.

“Sure.” Natsu helped Gray and covered him with the bed sheet. He watched as his pinched demeanour smoothed and he fell asleep and rid of the pain. He got up and heard someone ringing at the door. ‘It must be the others. Good timing…’ he hurried out Gray’s room (closing the door gently) and went to open the door. A smiling Erza with a couple of bags on her arms and a hyper Happy greeted him, Happy flying to Natsu and babbling on how good it was to see him. Natsu let them in and took them to the kitchen.

When they got there the first thing Erza noticed was the pile of dishes, “We didn’t interrupt, did we?” she sat in one of the chairs and looked fondly at him.

“No, I just gave Gray his tea and was about to… eat and do the dishes…?”

“Wonderful, we haven’t had our breakfast either, so shall we?” she produced some loafs of bread and various pieces of different cheeses and ham. Natsu placed the jug of milk on the table, some glasses and a couple of knives. They started eating and Erza told him of the strange thing that had happened after they left.

“Not long after you guys left, the Master came from one of the back rooms. He looked a bit shaken and asked Mira for a glass of scotch. You know that the Master doesn’t usually drink that kind of thing.” She paused to take a sip from her glass. “It seemed that something was worrying him and he was drinking to gain some confidence – what’s not like the Master at all. Something’s going on… “by the end she was musing to herself. “Anyway, how was your night? How’s Gray faring?”

Natsu shrugged a bit. “He’s in pain, what’s to be expected. He slept the whole night but when he woke today the pain seemed to be so severe that he had some troubles breathing. And he’s in too much pain to move. I gave him the tea and left him asleep when you got here.”

As if on cue, a shrieking scream pierced the house.

The friends got up and ran to the room. As Natsu opened the door to Gray’s room he turned and told Erza and Happy to wait there for an instant. Then he entered and slammed the door closed.

Erza glanced at Happy and they waited, impatiently, for something that showed them that they could go in. The screams that issued from the room were getting quieter and quieter until they stopped. They waited a little more – just to be sure. Then Erza cautiously turned the doorknob and found Natsu, with his back to the door, holding and cradling an apparently unconscious Gray.

“What happened here?” she couldn’t help but ask.

~^~

Natsu heard the scream and it pierced him to the core. Something was very wrong if Gray was screaming like that! The first thing that crossed through his mind was ‘I need to be near Gray’ so his body moved to obey, he got up in a jump and ran to the room – and there was definitely something wrong going on, after all, how was it possible that the room that usually was so close could be so far away? After what looked like hours Natsu’s hand contacted the doorknob, he turned it and turned to tell Erza and Happy to wait outside. He threw back the door with some unnecessary force but couldn’t care less, his eyes focusing on the form that was crying and arching off the bed. ‘And now, what do I do?’ in that moment Natsu froze with uncertainty. Then another hoarse cry tore from his friend’s throat and that was when Natsu’s instincts took control. He walked resolutely to the bed, sat on it and pulled a weakly struggling Gray to his lap. The cries lost their intensity the more Natsu touched him, the more the contact between them. Natsu leaned his head on Gray’s chest and inspired deeply ‘Please Igneel, tell me what I should do’ he pleaded against Gray’s trembling form. He closed his eyes and let his senses take full control, his hands roaming the body. He had no idea about what was happening but let himself go. Absently feeling Gray’s hands on his shoulders, Natsu stopped in an area that was familiar to him. Before his brain had time to analyze or argue about what he was doing, Natsu had his lips and teeth already kissing and nibbling the expanse of skin. From the collarbone he went to the neck and after a bit of nuzzling he went to the area of the bite and, having the greatest sort of déjà-vu, pierced the skin once again. Okay, maybe this time he went a bit deeper but what mattered was that Gray had calmed and didn’t seem to be in so much pain anymore, as he even had stopped screaming.

Natsu took his fangs out and closed his eyes as the door behind him opened and Erza asked “What happened here?” his only reaction was to let his head lean wearily against Gray’s shoulder.

~^~

_Gray was sleeping. How did he know that? Well, because he wasn’t in pain, obviously._

_And considering that he had some kind of conscience did it mean that he was dreaming? That was the most likely… Okay, but this dream didn’t have anything so far. He was standing in some place and around him everything was black. This wouldn’t do, right? He decided to start walking ahead (as it was a good direction as any other)._

_At least he had chosen a good direction, he congratulated himself as his surroundings started to get illuminated. He came to a stop on a clearing on what looked like the edge of a forest. This was awkward. He had the feeling that he knew this place. He thought hard but every time he was getting close to the answer it escaped him. Now that was making him frustrated. With some irritation he kicked a pebble that went against a tree and disappeared into darker corners of the forest that the midday sun couldn’t illuminate. Then he stopped. He heard some noises. Those noises became giggles that were getting closer and not long after, through a bush, three blonde kids appeared in front of Gray. The two boys looked strangely similar, maybe they were brothers – he took time to notice – and a blue-eyed girl. They were all dressed in simple clothes, appropriate to play and the mischievous smile that lit their faces showed that they were having a lot of fun. The small group stopped near another set of trees on the other side of the clearing, waiting for something. Not long after a large brown dog appeared, apparently he was playing catch with them. With a new round of giggles the kids departed in different directions, leaving the dog behind to decide who he wanted to follow first. Gray watched all this with a quirked eyebrow. He wanted to see what his brain had to entertain him. The dog scratched behind his ear as he looked in what looked like a pensive stance. Golden eyes looked fixedly at Gray’s. When it looked like he had had enough of scratching his ear, the dog approached Gray and got up, to stand on two legs._

_It transformed into a woman – a tall woman – that had three large scars on her face, they were all parallel. The lower one touched the left corner of her mouth and wasn’t very long, ending in her jawbone, the second came from the area above her right eyebrow, came across her nose and ended like the other, on the jawbone, and the third came from the corner of her left eye and ended before her ear. She had a sharp and toothy grin, purple hair completely pulled to her right side of the face, her bangs pulled back by a twinkling something (it was hard to see how it was done) and the rest of her long hair was caught in two large braids that fell down her back. She was dressed in brown leather that moulded snugly to her body. From the v-neck of her top a strange symbol was hanging. She took a step closer, hands on her hips, and a predatory smile (that showed her perfect pearly-white teeth) she leaned to him and asked, “So, what’s your decision? What’s your choice?”_

_Gray took a step back and, completely confused, asked, “Choice? About what?” he held his hands in the air in a slightly defensive pose._

_She lifted her right hand to her chin and cocked her head to the side, smile never fading, “Your choice, silly… It’s not that hard…” she waved one hand in front of her and a wave of air shot against Gray. He looked, astonished, as it sliced through his left hand. He turned the hand to him and watched the blood drip down the hand and to his elbow. This person was dangerous, he concluded. He tried to make a shield with his magic but the magic was gone!_

_“But this is only a dream…” he reminded himself while shaking his head._

_The woman heard this and took another step towards him, the smile continued on her face and it was irking Gray – a lot! A slightly hoarse laugh was heard – the woman was laughing at him, “You think that this is a dream? You’re even more silly than you look…” her stance shifted from amused to pushy – her smile receding and becoming slightly feral – as she took another step and demanded, “And your answer is… Answer me.”_

_“I don’t know what you’re talking about!” Gray shouted, turned around and started running to the dense part of the forest. He ran as fast as he could but somehow could hear her voice in his ear, feel her breath on his neck. She was taunting him and kept demanding for an answer. Finally, in a bored tone she said, “Fine, if you don’t answer me I won’t protect you from the things that you’re running from…”_

_“Such as…” he asked with the few breaths he could muster. By the corner on an eye he saw a movement and when he turned his head to look properly she was flying a couple of meters to his right, the trees and branches not bothering her, with a bored look on her face that lightened wickedly when she answered, “Oh, I don’t know… maybe the feeling of your body fighting against itself and the excruciating pain it gives…” she flashed an angelic smile. Gray stumbled on a rock and fell to the ground. Looking at the high heeled boots that stopped in front of him, Gray looked up at the owner. “Come on. It’s not that hard…” she grabbed Gray by the hair and pulled him up so that they were at eye level – his feet were not touching the ground. “Is it harder than the feeling of someone plucking out your legs?” Gray’s eyes widened as he felt as if someone was trying to take them out for real. He screamed, an inhuman sound coming out of his throat._

_She looked at him and pouted, “Still no answer? Very well, and how would you feel if someone twisted your arms a little bit?” Before Gray’s horrified eyes his arms rose and were pulled to opposite directions, being twisted a bit also by invisible forces. A little bit of strength was applied and new pain coursed through his body as he saw the bones piercing the flesh to continue the motion. More pained screams came out from Gray but the woman didn’t relent. With a concerned expression she asked him, “Are you alright? Don’t tell me that these bad girls are hurting you…” the fingers of her free hand fluttered delicately over the Spyroglal’s gashes. Then her fingers became claws that pierced his skin and she pulled them down, ripping the flesh in the whole length of the gashes and making Gray scream even more._

_This was a dream or whatever but he couldn’t, no. This was as bad as being awake. Maybe worst because here he was alone against this all-mighty person. It was impossible. When could he return to the darkness of nothingness?_

_Then a warm breeze started blowing, a pink mist rising from the ground and covering the sun high in the sky and changing the light from white to the pinkish/orangish of the sunset._

_Soft pink tendrils rose and covered Gray, the woman letting go of Gray with a small outraged cry. Once inside the pink mist Gray stopped feeling pain. He was wrapped in a tender embrace that was protecting him from all harm. He even saw how his arms were healed, as if nothing had happened. A warm voice breathed on his ear that everything was alright, that he could rest now. He was ready to comply but one part of him wanted to see who had protected him and, more importantly, what the hell was going on. With an exasperated huff the voice told him to sleep, one of the tendrils pushing gently on his forehead._

_Trying to rebel but not able to, Gray fell to the darkness knowing that he was safe._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Unbetaed.


	23. Erza knows

“Did you hear me Natsu? I want to know what the hell’s going on.” Erza demanded from the room door where she stood straight with her arms folded in front of her.

Another bone-deep sigh escaped Natsu from where he was sitting with Gray in his arms. She did _not_ like being in the dark and even less when the matter was related to two of her closest friends and she could see that she _was_ being kept in the dark. She didn’t like this one bit.

“Please, tell me what’s going on…” she decided to take another approach and ask in a soft voice, her stance now coming out as less certain, almost insecure as she almost fidgeted by the door. She exchanged a look with Happy. The flying cat armed himself with courage and soared to the bed where Natsu was. He stopped just before landing by Natsu’s right side when an enraged growl was heard in the room and Natsu’s head snapped to look at Happy with slitted red blazing eyes. The cat flapped at his wings wildly and came to a stop hovering besides a shocked Erza. She almost took a step back with the shock.

Before her eyes Natsu was behaving very, very strangely. He was behaving in a very possessive way. Then her mind quickly analysed the situation and came with a possible explanation. Maybe he was reacting like that because Gray was there and in a very defenceless position? That was just preposterous. There was no motive for him to be like that and in the various times that Gray had been hurt before, Natsu never reacted like this, so why now?

Then another thing clicked in her mind; it might’ve had something to do with the reason why the Master called Natsu? Nope, it couldn’t be it. They had already explained the reason for it. Unless… they hadn’t told the whole story! No, that wasn’t true, couldn’t be true. At least, she didn’t find any reason for them not to have told them everything. No, this was just a wild guess that had no way to be true and that was final!

She had had her small argument with herself while she watched Natsu turn around and return his focus solely to Gray. She heard herself say “I think we better talk in the living room. Come when you’re ready.” she paused for a milli-second to realize what she had just said then turned around and went to one of the armchairs. She sat calmly in one of them (the one that was directed to the bedrooms’ doors) and, accompanied by Happy, waited for Natsu. She had her left leg crossed over her right one and while waiting she absentmindedly started bouncing her leg slightly and, as time stretched, her bounce got more pronounced until she kicked the coffee table and made it to stand in a vertical position. She hurried up to set it back on the ground and see if the dent was noticeable (and damnit, it was… How was she going to explain this now?). After setting the area in a semblance to the usual, Erza sat down again. But she was restless so she decided to go to the kitchen and get a glass of water. As she was returning to the living room, she saw Natsu closing the door, leaving a tiny bit of it open. Then he nodded at her and sat in the large and comfy brown armchair that he usually claimed as his. Happy got one of the sofa pillows and got himself comfortable while looking at Natsu. Erza sat on her armchair and laid the tumbler on the table. “Could you please explain now?”

She didn’t like the look that Natsu threw at her.

~^~

Natsu could feel the stares on his back as Erza asked him once again if he had heard her, her voice was demanding, as if she had to know about everything that happened. He sighed once again, trying to calm himself. He had no reason to be directing these hostile thoughts at his friend. She was probably worried and this bossy attitude was just her way of reacting. When she spoke next, her voice was softer, trying to persuade him to open up to her. But he couldn’t. This wasn’t just Natsu’s problem and he had accorded with Gray earlier about what the girls would know. And he was not going to take a decision when Gray, that was currently lying on Natsu’s lap and resting against his torso, was unconscious.

Then he sensed something. Yes, something (or rather someone) was close. Way too close to an unconscious and defenceless Gray. A warning growl emerged from his throat as he turned to face the threat, his muscles tense and ready to spring into action, should the need arise, his breathing rhythm increasing and the fangs showing amidst his slightly parted lips. It was just Happy – a Happy that had looked at him with large shocked eyes before flying away hurriedly – and there was no threat, thought Natsu in the back of his head. Then a small question came to his mind, ‘Why did I react like that? There’s nothing here that might harm me or Gray without having to face Erza first and I _know_ that, so why this reaction?’ he shook his head slightly, trying to order his confused thoughts.

Behind him, Erza said that she would be waiting for him in the living room and he heard her steps moving away from the room. He held Gray a bit tighter then relaxed his grip and gently laid Gray back on the bed, covering him with the bed sheet. Natsu sat there for a few instants longer, contemplating his now calm friend. Unsettling questions arose. Was the bond truly the answer to all this and to all these strange reactions and behaviours that Natsu was adopting? He almost ripped the sheet but then he remembered how upset the other would get. ‘Wait a minute!’ he halted that train of thought. Since when did he care about what his actions would do to Gray? Since when did he give a damn? And it wasn’t just because he was baby-sitting Gray (yeah, yeah, or being his nurse) that he was going to change. Then, why this? He shouldn’t care. But, may the Dactilos help him, he did.

By then Natsu had turned his frustration against himself and was grabbing fiercely at his hair. No. He had to calm down because Erza was outside waiting for him and so was Happy, his loyal friend that had been scared by him. Was this going to make their relation go sour? There was no way for him to know, but he did know one thing – stay here in the room with Gray and almost tear out his hair wasn’t going to help at all. And he better move quickly otherwise he could let himself react in a way that he would regret later.

Having steered his thoughts, Natsu was now ready to go face Erza and try to set this mess right.

He got up carefully, adjusted the scarf around his neck and headed to the door. He was out of the room in no time and saw that Erza was dealing with the sturdy coffee table that was standing up and had a massive dent. ‘I wonder how Gray’s going to deal with this, knowing that it was Erza…’ he sniggered in the back of his mind, knowing perfectly well that Gray was not about to argue with Erza – the _sometimes_ terrifying Erza – about something so insignificant as this. Erza was so out of it that she didn’t even notice Natsu as she sat down and almost instantly got up again to go to the kitchen. As Natsu was closing the door it gave a slight creak that was noticed by Erza as she looked at him with some finality. He proceeded to close the door (only letting a sliver of it open) and went to sit on his usual chair.

Strangely, it wasn’t as comfortable as usual…? He moved and tried to get into a good position. In front of him, Erza was sitting in one of the armchairs and looking seriously at him. Happy was lounging lazily amongst some pillows, his eyes focused on him. The sound of the tumbler hitting the table made Natsu look at Erza. She smoothed her expression and asked, “Could you please explain now?”

Natsu felt a number of contradictory emotions as he tried to come out with an answer and some must’ve showed on his face by the sombre frown that appeared on Erza’s face. Natsu crossed his legs on the comfy chair and leaned back, “There isn’t much to say,” Erza was opening her mouth and about to say something but he didn’t let her, “but it is complicated…” a weary sigh came out and he was about to run a hand through his hair when he caught himself and consciously laid it on the arm of the chair. Erza waited until he seemed to be calm enough to continue. “Then what’s your problem? Why don’t you just answer and we try to find a way to help you.”

“No!” Natsu coughed and averted his eyes to the painting on the wall on his right. It was pretty, a snowy landscape was portrayed; maybe it was a painting of Gray’s village? He caught himself and cursed at his recent tendency of spacing out with no apparent reason (or when he was trying to avoid answer something). He turned to Erza and continued, “I mean, I don’t know if I can as this is a matter in which I’m not the only one concerned.”

“Gray’s also in this, am I right?” her question went straight to the point, in true Erza fashion. Natsu flinched slightly then nodded slowly, “Yes, it is about Gray and I don’t know if I should talk to you about it…”

“Natsu…” her soft voice pleaded him for an answer.

“Come on Erza! How can I- how do you think I can do this? I’m not the one in a bad position. I shouldn’t be the one to take all these decisions. The Eumenides know where my decisions took us already…” he finished his sentence in a mutter.

“I don’t get it. What may be so wrong that you can’t decide by yourself… It’s not like I will do something dangerous with that knowledge, on the contrary, I might help you. Like before, for instance. I won’t let you go until I know the reason why you were holding Gray. And what he was doing on your lap.”

Natsu brought his right leg up so that it was resting against his chest and lifted his left hand to cover his eyes, “Yeah, you saw that…” he said while rubbing his eyes, “Well, you don’t have to worry too much about it. We’ve- we’ll take care of it…”

“Yes, that should give me an immense comfort. First listening to Gray’s pained screams then you enter the room alone and soon after everything is magically well again…” she said in a voice full of sarcasm.

“Don’t say that. You don’t know-“

“Exactly, I don’t. So, explain. And now, please.”

It may not look like it but Natsu did know when he was defeated and right now with Erza like this, her jaw set as tight as hers was, he had no other choice. He let go of a very tired sigh. They weren’t even in the afternoon and Natsu was already beat and ready to go to sleep. He started talking but didn’t want to face Erza, “Alright. We didn’t want to tell you before, as we didn’t want to make you and Lucy worry too much. We also wanted a bit more of time to study this and – oh, you have to promise that no-one else knows, I mean, when time comes, we’ll be the ones to tell the others.”

“Of course that I won’t tell. Now, stop beating around the bush and tell me…”

“A bond. It’s a bond.”

“A bond what? Don’t tell me that you got into one of those freaky male bonding things…” Erza tried to lift a bit the atmosphere – unsuccessfully. “And I see that you didn’t… Please explain.”

“It’s… it’s a bond like the ones from the ballads…”

A disbelieving smile appeared on Erza’s lips, she shook her head and said, “That can’t be true. That’s one of the many things that belongs to the magic that was lost. It’s just not possible…” she couldn’t believe.

“I am not lying. For now I just wanted to see if Gray recovered from his problem with the magic and we would try to learn, slowly, things about this…”

“What do you know about it already? Do you know the kind of bond, I mean, this is just me wondering from what I now remember from the _Melia Song_. It depicted a myriad of bond types. Some were good and some were bad, if you recall it… I know that this is a serious thing but on the other side, this is extremely interesting and exciting. We need to research for more information, what if adverse effects come out…” she stopped when Natsu lifted his hand to halt her tirade.

“This was also one of the reasons not to tell. We need to go at a slow pace, for Gray’s sake. He already has enough to deal with. And I can assure you that the bond is on the benign side, I can feel it. And now that this is clear, will you go and try to ask the Master for one of the books he told me about? It wouldn’t do much good if I left the house…”

“Sure. I’ll go talk to the Master right away.” She got up from her chair, “But there’s still one thing that I would like to know. Why exactly were you holding him before?”

Natsu looked at her dumbfounded. What the hell? He dropped the enormous bomb about the bond and she was still stuck to that little detail that she had got to a room in which Natsu was holding Gray? Something strange was happening here but he was beyond caring, “Because of bond related things? I don’t know… Could you just go, now?”

Erza turned around and headed to the door, a contemplative look set in her face. And somehow, from the little that he had seen, Natsu didn’t exactly like it, no, not at all…

When the front door closed, Happy got up from one of the pillows making another one fall to the floor.

“Natsu, can I get closer?” he asked a bit fearfully.

Natsu looked at him tiredly and extended his hand in a clearly inviting sign. Happy jumped at the arm and mewled some nonsensical words while Natsu petted his head gently.

“Sorry about that from before. I don’t know what happened to me…”

“It’s fine, just don’t do it again, aye?”

With a toothy grin Natsu answered, “You can relax, I won’t.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Unbetaed.


	24. Distance

_The sound of movement nearby and people talking started to bring Gray back to consciousness. He was finally waking up._

_He began by focusing on his body and tried to assess its condition but strangely nothing hurt. He remembered the previous events and logically he should be hurting, wait, no. That pink thing had protected him and he had gone to sleep protected by it. Yes, that was the reason why he wasn’t hurting. But that meant that he was dreaming again (the woman had said that this wasn’t a dream but what else could it be?) as he should be in pain because of the after-effect of the magic. He groaned slightly and turned to his left side. The voices ceased speaking and, when he just lay there, continued a little after._

_Gray opened his eyes and in front of him stood a wall. The wall was huge, smooth and of a brownish yellow colour. He moved his neck a bit and saw how it continued until it wasn’t noticeable where it ended. Then he looked down, to the place in which he was lying. It could be called a bed as it was soft and adjusted perfectly to the body. It didn’t feel bad but it had been better when the pink mist had enveloped him. Oh well… Then he noticed that he was covered by a sort of blanket that felt really soft and had a weird texture, like nothing he had ever felt. He snuggled further into it and closed his eyes again, letting go a soft sigh. Now he was focused on his hearing. The first thing he heard was the sound of two different voices, whispering in a way meant not to wake him, then there was a sort of rustling and, at some point, he noticed the faint echo of ‘drip drip’ – there was running water somewhere. Gray grabbed the pillow with his left hand and returned to his previous position, on his back. Now he had his eyes open and he looked to his right, from where the voices were coming. He could see two dark figures, outlined against the sunlight that was coming from the entrance. Yes, because – he could see it now – he was inside a cave, a large cave by the looks of it and he was in a slight indent of the wall that gave some protection from the entrance. The figures noticed that he was awake so they got close to him. When he could discern the features of these people he instantly sat up, with his back to the wall. “What the hell are you doing here?” he asked while one trembling hand rose to point at the person while the other gripped the blanket hard enough to turn his knuckles white as he pulled it against his body as if it could protect him. He looked from one figure to the other, from the tall person to the short one. A wide grin answered him, that grin didn’t comfort him at all when the answer was, “My, my. Look who’s awake…”_

_The woman with the three scars from before was by the foot of his bed, one hand on her hip. But her clothes now were different, now she was wearing a long sleeved navy blue dress, the collar of the dress was asymmetric and at the waist a bright red ribbon that functioned as a belt, adjusting the dress. Her hair continued to cover the right half of her face but now her bangs fell freely in a slightly lopsided way. Her left ear had an earring that matched the necklace and her hair was falling loose down her back. Those golden eyes were riveted to Gray’s form but for now she just stood there looking at him. Slightly comforted by her lack of reaction at the moment Gray looked at the other person. Hm, this person was small. And had the head covered by a dark green hood so Gray couldn’t see the face but somehow emerald green eyes looked back at him. After a few instants in which he could feel himself being observed with intense focus, Gray heard a deep male voice say, “Now look what you’ve done. Did you have to be so impulsive before?” The woman scoffed at him, crossed her arms and pouted, “Hey, it’s not my fault that I got a little carried away…”_

_A snort emerged from the hood. She uncrossed her arms and got closer to the small figure. In a swift move she grabbed the hood and pulled it down while saying, “You’re one to talk… And look at me when I’m speaking!”_

_A head with blond short hair was uncovered and a child-like face emerged, the expression on the eyes was one of pure rage – almost to the point of sending out sparks. “Don’t you mess with me. It’s already enough how you jeopardized everything we’ve worked for.” She looked to the other side, rudely. “I’ve already said I was sorry…”_

_“Well, I don’t think that you’ve said it to the people in question. Now you have the chance to set that straight. Go on…” he urged on softly. The woman shifted her weight from one foot to the other. She was acting in spite of herself so the words seemed a little fake when she turned at Gray and looked at him with hard golden eyes, “I apologize for what I did before. It was completely out of line…”_

_Gray just looked at her, without reaction. He had been looking at this strange exchange of words (and grateful for not being the centre of attention – as it was extremely unnerving) with curiosity. The boy might be small but his presence exhaled authority (and having that deep voice added to the weirdness) in a way that the woman couldn’t refuse to obey. That was further evidence as she was apologising to him without wanting to. The boy turned to Gray and arched a perfect eyebrow. They were supposedly waiting for an answer, right… Gray cleared his throat a couple of times until he found his voice and answered, “Al-hm-alright, I forgive you.” The boy nodded at Gray and threw a pointed look at the woman. They were about to retreat (that’s what looked like to him) so he let go of the blanket and lifted a hand, calling them, “Could-could someone explain me what’s happening here?” The boy turned fully at him, the woman standing by the entrance already stopped and went to the boy’s side when he signalled at her to come. They sat by the bed in strange fluffy lime seats that had appeared there._

_“But, you don’t know anything?” he gave a slight hiss between his teeth when Gray shook his head in a negative way. Besides him the woman tried not to appear too smug so she started looking at her nails. “I told you so. It wasn’t completely my fault. You just have to face it, now we’re a matter of legends, forgotten by all and just remembered to entertain an audience.”_

_The boy got up and started pacing, he was shaking his head as a dismayed look fell upon his features. The room’s mood had become increasingly gloomy and the two persons now seemed much older, tension lines pinching at their faces._

_“But this is impossible.” He paused mid-step then continued, after glancing at Gray, “So this explains the lack of knowledge…”_

_“As much as there’s lack of knowledge someone’s out there doing the right things.” When she said these words he stopped and turned at her, his robes flapping sharply at his sudden movement. “What do you mean?”_

_She crossed her legs and leaned back (the back of the chair materializing in the right place at that precise moment), “Well, he did seem to be well – and an emphasis on the well – protected. I could feel it on our unfortunate event before…”_

_Gray decided to intervene, “What are you talking about? Is it from that other dream?”_

_“I told you already that this is not a dream.” She leaned back, crossed her hands behind her head and her boot-clad feet on the foot of the bed. “This is the place where-“ she was silenced by a hand covering her mouth. The boy looked at Gray. “I think that for now this is enough. Now, could you tell me about the major things that you remember from your_ dream _from before?” he waited patiently._

_“I… I don’t know. I was in a forest, she appeared, I ran from her but she got me and I felt pain then something enveloped me. A pink mist, I think. After that, nothing.”_

_“Well, I hope that I’m not giving you any news when I tell you that you’re bonded to someone…” at Gray’s head shake he continued, “Great. Well, in this place you are expected to act in a certain way, to have a certain degree of knowledge and to answer to some questions. When my friend here acted like the hothead that she is, and the outcome was you in a lot of pain, you were protected by your bondmate-“_

_“You mean that Natsu saved me?” he asked with wide eyes._

_“Of course he did, silly…” at this particular tone of voice coming from the woman, a shudder ran down Gray’s spine. “What did you think that had happened? It was so strong that it was as if you were surrounded by an indestructible armour. I know that it gave me a shock.” She held her hair in a sort of pony tail then let it fall down the back of the chair. She was speaking in a nonchalant way, as if it hadn’t had any meaning._

_“This is confusing. Could you please explain me-“ he was stopped when the boy placed a hand on his shoulder and looked towards the darkness. The green eyes bore into Gray’s and he muttered, “In due time everything will be explained but for now you have to go.”_

_“Yeah, they’re already calling for you…”_

_“Who? But-“_

_“Don’t worry. The next time when you’re ready you’ll return here. Maybe whole. And then we’ll be able to deepen our conversation and tell you more…”_

_“But now you need to wake up. Quickly.”_

_“Yes, go on. They’re already terribly worried.”_

_Before he could ask them to clarify, Gray saw the light change until everything became grey with indistinct shadows moving, twirling around and coming at him. He started by closing his eyes to blink but when he opened them everything was black. A soft wind caressed his cheek and Gray fell asleep._

~^~

It was around midday when a knock on the door woke Natsu. He had fallen asleep on his armchair with Happy on his lap (wait a minute, was this a blanket? How could it- Hm, it should’ve been Happy’s doing). He patted the blue cat’s head to wake him up, while calling his name softly. When Happy had woken up Natsu was able to get up and, folding the blanket and laying it on the back of the couch, he went to answer the door. The first thing he saw was a pile of books – oh look! A walking pile of books (what the hell was wrong with him?) – that turned out to be Erza. Well, that wasn’t too much of a surprise. “Can I come in?” she asked calmly.

“Oh, yeah! Please do.” Natsu took a sideways step and closed the door after her. Erza walked resolutely to the dented coffee table and placed the books in it. She turned to him – who was still by the door.

“It’s lunch time and I’m starving. Do you want to eat something?” asked Natsu.

“It’s rare to see you acting so host-like. But in fact I could eat something already. Let’s go.” They both entered the kitchen followed by Happy instants later. Natsu hurried to the sink and was about to take care of the dishes when Erza went to his side and took his place. “Let me. I’ll take care of this if you hurry to cook the meal.” She was already pushing back her sleeves. “Cook as much food as if it were for you then add a few things for me.”

Natsu was left walking to the pantry, where he grabbed a pile of food and set to prepare it. Whey they were all sitting at the table and ready to eat Erza spoke, “I talked to the Master.”

Natsu who had been ready to dig in stopped mid-air to look at her. “Wouldn’t it be better if we talked about it later? I wouldn’t want the food to get cold.” ‘ _Or my appetite to go away…_ ’ these last words were left unsaid but could clearly be heard anyway.

“Huh, alright…” acquiesced Erza. They started eating.

One thing could be said, from all the cheerful lunches that sometimes they had had one could say that this wasn’t, clearly, one of them. They finished the meal in silence (Natsu eating far less than usual) and that same silence continued as they piled the dishes on the sink and moved to the living room. They sat on their previous seats and Natsu promptly was reaching to one of the books when Erza repeated, “So, I spoke with the Master...” Natsu withdrew his hand and tried to pass unnoticed as Erza continued, “He was saying that this is a very delicate matter but for me not to worry. This is the only thing that you say, not to worry, not to worry… Don’t you understand that this is very serious and completely life changing?” Natsu arched one of his eyebrows.

“I do know that you are right in the _middle_ of this but you can count on us for at least, help you in your research for more information. I don’t want anything to happen to either of you.”

“I appreciate your worry and your offer of help is most welcome but for now we can’t tell you anything more – well, from the little that we know.”

“What do you mean?”

“For Gray. As I said before, this should go slowly at least in the beginning.” Erza gave a serious nod. “And talk about the devil.” Said Natsu while he got up.

“I didn’t hear anything.”

“Didn’t you hear the bed shift? That and the change in the air…” she just shook her head. “For now I think I can handle it. Maybe you could start with the research…” he gave a slight wave, entered the room and closed the door.

Silence.

He got close to the bed but Gray wasn’t waking up. Strange. He could’ve sworn that he had heard the signs of Gray waking up. And what the hell was this? Over-awareness? Natsu sat on the bed. It wouldn’t hurt if Gray woke up to eat, drink and go answer the call of nature. Natsu placed a hand on his friend’s shoulder and gave a small shake. Nothing. He tried to shake a little harder and still, nothing happened. Gray was still unresponsive. Panic started to crash upon Natsu, growing with each passing minute in which Gray continued without waking up. This, this wasn’t possible. No, whatever this was, this wasn’t happening. But before his eyes one of his deeper fears was becoming reality. Amidst all that panic he tried to do the sensible things in hopes that his fears were quelled. He felt the other’s pulse, that was beating steadily but there was still something off. Oh, it was beating slightly faster that it would be if he was sleeping. This was an ‘awake’ rhythm. And there was also some strange thing about the way that the arms looked. They looked so lax.

By now Natsu was almost at the point of getting up and go get Erza but then, before his eyes, muscles contracted. A hand slid gently and came to rest on Gray’s stomach. Gray was waking up! Natsu almost laughed out loud with relief before remembering that it would be better not to disturb the silence.

Finally Gray’s eyes opened, very slowly. At the same time a low hiss of discomfort left Gray’s lips and that prompted Natsu to kneel by his side on the bed. Something compelled him to place one of his hands on Gray’s right arm while the other came up, distractedly, to peel the sweaty bangs from his forehead and from where some fell over his eyes. Strangely, Gray appeared to be feeling more discomfort than pain at the moment though he still grimaced frequently.

In a slightly hoarse voice Natsu said, “Hey, you’ve finally awoken.”

The hand that was still on the bed came up to scratch Gray’s head while he asked in a confused voice, “How long was I out?”

“Only about half a day but that’s alright. I just had to wake you because you need to drink your tea, perhaps go to the toilet and it wouldn’t do any harm if we changed your bandages…”

Gray let his hand fall down to the bed once again and looked at Natsu. “Sure. But then I need to tell you something. You’re not going to believe these strange things that I dreamed about…”

“Okay. But now, first stop, the toilet. By the way, Erza’s out there with Happy, they brought a pile of books on the Master’s part and we’ll have a lot to read.” Gray was nodding blankly at what Natsu was saying while Natsu was straightening him and pulling him the end of the bed. Only when his weight fell upon his legs did he give a startled shout while his hands flew to Natsu’s shoulders where he held himself weakly. “Yeah, you’re not strong enough yet. Sorry about that…” muttered Natsu ashamedly while he scooped Gray up bridal style eliciting a tiny cry of surprise on Gray’s part.

“Oh, and before you get too upset, the dent was Erza’s fault. It’s only so that you don’t get too surprised later.” He answered at the bewildered look that Gray threw him. They left the room and were looked at by a curious Erza and an excited Happy. They did the way to the bathroom and left it not long after, with Gray looking much more refreshed and Natsu with a small package of bandages. The room’s door closed again and it left Erza and Happy looking at each other before they returned to their previous occupations.

Natsu laid Gray on the bed then he turned and went to the door, “I’ll go get the tea and the medicines.”

Natsu left the room quickly to be stopped by a loud whine he returned to the room and saw Gray clutching at the bed as if the pain had returned. ‘But he was fine instants ago…’ he thought. Natsu saw, puzzedly, how Gray was breathing a little better now and no longer grabbed the bed sheets as Natsu was standing by the door and when he headed to the bed Natsu noticed that the closer he got from him the better Gray looked (and, possibly, felt). “Are you ok?” he asked when he was standing by the bed.

“Now-now I’m feeling better. What the hell was that?” asked Gray while trying to get a little up to lean against the headboard. “In one moment I’m normal and in the other all I can feel is pain.”

“Don’t tell me…” Natsu walked slowly to the door and when he reached it, opened it and was about to cross it but Gray’s gasp “Stop!” made him look back. Gray was once again clutching at the bed sheets and breathing labouredly. The door closed and the heavy silence that followed was broken by Natsu.

“I can’t believe it…” Natsu’s mutter was answered by Gray’s eyes opening wide while he relaxed and calmed down the closer Natsu got from him.

“I think that we have a slight problem…”

In that moment Gray doubled over coughing. When he recovered a little he asked in a rough voice, “What…”

“It appears that you’re kind of dependent of my presence.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Unbetaed.


	25. Shock and Conversations

“You’ve got to be kidding!” Gray exclaimed in disbelief. Natsu shook his head and sighed. Did these surprises have no end or what?

“Then how do you explain this?” As Gray shook his head in a negative way Natsu continued, “You feel bad when I’m away. You've got any better explanation?"

Gray was starting to lose his temper, a frown already marring his face, “…No, not right now. But this is just too much! I mean, what’ll happen next?! I’m already in what feels like a dangerous situation that…I'm afraid of what else might happen…”

Natsu was slightly taken aback by this confession, because what had begun as something that most likely would've lead to an argument had ended in a very out of character answer. Though he was flattered by being able to witness this glimpse into Gray’s inner thoughts, Natsu felt a twinge of regret at having put him in this position. But then he remembered, if he hadn’t acted the way he had, Gray would’ve been dead long ago. Yes, that was one thing that he couldn’t forget.

He decided to take the typical course of action, “I had no idea that you had that in you,” Natsu said while he sat by the end of the bed. As Gray looked at him with a slightly confused expression, the Salamander shrugged as he added for clarification, “That bit of a cowardly streak.” His voice then took on a defiant tone as he mused, “You didn’t have that before…”

Natsu was looking up at the ceiling and from the corner of his eye he watched as Gray fumed. Good. Gray shouldn’t be down and beaten and if Natsu had to rile him up to get him in the right mood – he would.

On his side, Gray was almost trembling with rage. How dare he? How could Natsu say those things? “I'd like to know how you'd be taking this if it were happening to _you_!” Gray almost yelled before he threw himself at Natsu. The pink-haired boy wasn’t expecting this – though he had been watching Gray – so when the other’s body hit his, Natsu lost his balance and they both fell to the floor, ending up sprawled. Gray kept struggling though he had ended on top of Natsu, but he was so weak that it wasn’t difficult for Natsu to reverse their positions, securing Gray’s hands near his head. Gray was breathing heavily and he was sure that if he were stronger he would’ve frozen Natsu’s face to death, more than once!

“Now that I’ve grabbed your attention…”

Gray tried to break free from the other’s grasp but it was in vain, “What the hell are you talking about!? First you insult me then—!“

“I just said that to snap you out of that—"

“And what makes you think that I needed you to—?!“ Gray started squirming.

“Gray!” Natsu’s bark halted the ice mage momentarily. Then a light creak caught their attention.

“Boys, what is—?“ Erza was opening the door while she looked around the room. When her eyes caught the scene she froze. With both boys on the floor, Natsu was on top of Gray, holding his wrists down and straddling him. Now that was unexpected…then again, unexpected was an understatement. “We could hear you from the other room and it sounded as if the argument was becoming heated so I just wanted to….er…” she spoke in a thin, embarrassed voice as she turned to the door, almost as if she was going to leave the room. She stopped and turned back around. “Could either of you explain me what’s happening? Why in Delos are you on the floor?” she asked in her big sister tone.

Several minutes went by and no-one answered her, Natsu’s serious profile looking intently into the eyes of the person underneath him. After a while Natsu’s clipped voice answered her, “Erza, leave the room please.”

She lifted her eyebrow. What was this, now? Natsu ordering her around?

“Go, now!” Natsu’s growl had a confused Erza out of the room before she had completely realized what she was doing.

Natsu looked intently at Gray. “Do I need to keep holding you down or can I let go?"

With a defeated sigh Gray let his body relax and lie limp on the floor. Natsu let go got off him to sit down beside him, only vaguely aware of the fact that his leg was touching Gray's.

“Feeling calmer now?” Gray didn’t move nor answer Natsu’s question, lying motionless on the floor, head turned to the wall. Natsu continued, “You do know you’ll have to talk to me sooner or later…” as he spoke he leaned back against the bed. A few moments later he saw Gray struggling to sit up. Natsu let himself be as he was sure that any help he might provide would be unwelcome. When Gray was finally up – and heaving heavily due to the effort made – he looked at Natsu with furious eyes.

“Do you have any idea how I feel about this?! Can you imagine how useless I feel, being like this? I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself, of living a normal life – on my own. Can’t you even understand how trapped I'm feeling?” Natsu was opening his mouth to answer but Gray didn’t let him, “Don't you realize that if had the strength I'd kick you out of this room?" he steadied himself by placing a hand on the floor when a bout of dizziness hit him. A heavy silence settled on the room, only to be broken by Natsu.

“You’re not the only feeling effects from this. I do too—“

“Then why is it you’re the same as always?"

After releasing a heavy sigh, Natsu answered, “It's not really a matter of comparison…because for one thing, you’re still recovering from the magic from before. You have a whole other set of needs, but trust me, the bond’s affecting me too."

“I’d like to see that…” Gray half-grumbled.

“It’s not like I could show you more than what I’ve already said, but for now we've got other things to worry about. Like how're we supposed to move around now that you need me to be close by, or Erza—“

“Yeah, what are we going to do now that you ordered her out of the room like that?” Gray consciously omitted the part about the position she had caught them in.

“Hopefully she'll remember that on these things related to you, I’m the one in charge.”

“Or you’ll be knocked out in less than a minute, she’ll go talk to the Master and demand answers, then find out about the bond situation and confront us. No, maybe we should tell her…”

Natsu was pleasantly surprised so he just gave a nod, “I’ll talk to her.”

This statement was met with an arched brow, “Huh, you do remember that this bond thing restricts us to a certain range – as much as I could understand. We’ll have to tell her together.”

“No…I think it'd be better for you if I had this conversation alone. We'll make it work. But for now, we should change your bandages and you can tell me about that thing you were taking about before. Weird dreams?”

Catching the subtle yet abrupt change of subject, Gray let Natsu help him to sit back on the bed, still feeling weak. Natsu started to peel off the bandages, but was forced to stop moments later. Some of the bandages had dried up on a few injuries, and if he pulled them the wounds would reopen. Then there was the need to clean up the goo before applying a new portion of ointments. “Now what do we do? I need water to clean you up and I can’t leave the room…”

Gray crossed his legs slowly and leaned back, resting on his hands, “What do you suggest? You give me a piggy-back ride to the bathroom or—?"

Natsu interjected quickly, “I'd rather not move you…”

Gray continued, “As I was _saying_ , we could always ask Erza if she can bring us the stuff…”

Natsu nodded and headed slowly to the door. “Right. I was going to say the same thing.” He opened the door and exchanged some words with Erza in a low voice, as the door shielded them.

It didn’t take long until Gray felt a twinge of something, something that was starting to scream deep inside. Gray clenched his teeth. This was ridiculous! He shouldn’t be feeling like this. Why was this happening to him? Logically he shouldn’t need anyone, yet the fact that Natsu had walked just a few steps away from him made Gray feel a pressure upon him. A looming pressure that was just waiting for a chance to crush him with unimaginable pain. His hands balled up into fists gripping at the sheets as he tried taking deep breaths. He leaned forward and closed his eyes. It was hard to breathe and Gray felt himself struggling to take the minimal intake of breath, that is until he sensed a change in the air. It felt as if the pressure had cleared, ‘Natsu must be getting close,' he thought. Opening his eyes, Gray lifted his head a bit and saw that Natsu was, indeed, by the bed.

“She’ll bring the stuff. And, how did you feel?” Natsu’s face was dead serious.

“I'm fine now…but I felt a weird force mostly. It wasn’t too bad, but I had the feeling that if you had taken another step it would’ve been a whole different scenario…”

“We’ll have to set that up. For now we don’t have anything else to do but wait.” Natsu kneeled on the bed and made it bounce slightly. In that instant a knock on the door was heard. Natsu answered, “Come in, Erza!” still bouncing on the bed.

A composed Erza entered the room holding two large bowls of tepid water (one could see the slight steam coming from it), while behind her Happy was bringing a couple of towels.

“Gray! You’re finally awake!” the flying cat landed on the side of the bed that was nearer to the window and busied himself with the towels (folding them, pilling them and placing them in odd places on the bed).

“Yes, it’s good to know that you’re feeling better…” Erza placed one hand on Gray’s right shoulder. What nobody expected was for Gray to become tense and try to jerk back while giving a pained yelp. Erza pulled her hand back instantly, in shock. Natsu rushed to Gray’s side and grabbed his shoulders – that action made Gray calm and relax under his touch. Erza and Happy watched as Natsu helped Gray to lie down on his side.

“Well… _that_ was unexpected…” muttered Natsu as he sat on the bed beside Gray, taking care of remaining in contact with him.

“May someone explain what just happened here? Because I'm not understanding a bit of it!"

“Wait a sec Erza, let me try this.” Natsu motioned for Happy to get closer. He looked at Gray questioningly and got a nod of approval before telling Happy that he was to touch Gray’s forearm. The small cat did as he was told. Approaching the ice mage slowly, he placed his right paw gently on the other’s left forearm. The sharp intake of breath made the other occupants of the room exchange glances. It was evident to all what had just happened. Without words, Natsu showed the others that they had to leave the room. When Natsu was alone with Gray, once again, he voiced what they already knew.

“So… now it looks like I'm the only one that can touch you without hurting you… Am I the only one seeing the irony in this?"

“This is just good news after good news… What the hell's going on Natsu? How am I- we… gonna overcome this? Tell me!”

“How am I supposed to know?! We just gotta focus on things one at a time. The first thing is this situation with your magic – and we know that time will fix it – so we’ll just adjust to whatever else is thrown at us by this bond. We’ll manage. The books must have tons of information that will help us, so we have to spend some time trying to figure them out, right?

“There’s not much else that can be done…” Gray answered with a sigh.

“Good. Now, come on, get up. We need to take off these bandages and apply new ones," said Natsu while gently lifting Gray and taking off the layers of bandages, sometimes dabbing at them with a wet towel. In some parts it was a bit tricky but soon Natsu was cleaning the dried lotions with another towel in precise and gentle movements. It came off easily and Gray didn’t shrink too much. While he was working Natsu asked, “You were about to tell me about a dream…” he didn’t want Gray’s mind to wander too much into some pessimistic thoughts that were surely waiting for a chance to pop into his head.

Gray shrugged (as much as he could with Natsu working on his back) and at some point tried to muffle a laugh that threatened to come out. He turned to Natsu and almost growled, “What had I told you about tickling me?”

“It’s not my fault, you know… Now, stay still and let me apply the cream. And spill.”

With an impatient huff Gray turned and started to talk about his strange dreams.

“So, suddenly I find myself in a forest. There was something about it that was slightly familiar, it was weird. Then, out of nowhere, three kids appeared along with a large dog. The kids ran away – they were playing or something like that, I guess – but the dog came towards me and suddenly in its place was a woman. She had three large scars on her face, and the way she smiled…” Gray paused to shudder, “Well, she turned to me and started demanding an answer, repeatedly. But how could I answer her when I didn’t know the question?”

“Hmm, that’s pretty strange…”

“Yeah. At one point I ran away, but she followed me close behind. She got me and – I have no idea how she did it – I started feeling pain. Gods, it hurt so much…” Natsu noticed that Gray’s hairs were standing on end and that was a strange occurrence to happen to an ice mage. Gray kept on, “Then something strange happened, a pink mist rose and protected me. I was told that you were the one that provoked the mist and saved me.”

Natsu stopped what he was doing, completely shocked. ‘I saved him from that? How? And who told him?’ he was very confused. He looked at Gray who was expecting an answer, “What? I don't know anything about that."

“You didn’t? But they said you were doing the right things. I just assumed you knew…”

“Who- who are ‘they’?” by now Natsu was way too confused, not getting the story at all.

“The people I met the second time I woke up – in those dreams, I mean.”

“You had two dreams…?”

“Yeah, and in this second one, there was that woman again and a boy. Well, he wasn’t exactly a boy, he looked like a little boy but his behaviour said everything except young. They said a lot of weird things about that place. They even mentioned that they were legends…? Like I said, it was all so strange…” Gray lifted his right arm so that Natsu could end his current activity. “It was odd how they kept urging me to wake up, as if someone was in trouble or something like that. Then I woke up. And now I have a question for you, there won't be anymore surprises after this, right?"

Natsu had finished patching Gray up and was looking in a pensive way, trying to process this bunch of information. He scratched lightly at his nose before replying, “Well, I hope so. Hm, and about the other matter, for a while I was really worried about you. I have no idea how these things might be connected…"

“What a surprise…” grumbled Gray.

“Just go to sleep. For now that's probably best.” Natsu helped Gray down once again. He hadn’t forgotten about the tea, but for now rest should be the most helpful thing. So, he sat on the bed, looking at the wall and thinking about this whole mess. When he looked to his side, Gray was sleeping peacefully. Natsu got up and left the room. There were some things that he had to discuss with Erza.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Betaed by Shiny Pichu-Chan. <3


	26. Another Surprise

The moment Natsu crossed the door an anxious Erza stopped him. “Natsu I’m so… I mean, I had no idea that it could be like that.” She stopped to apprehend fully his serious demeanour. “And now, what should we do?”

Natsu went to his armchair and dragged it so that the back of the chair was against the wall of Gray’s room. The other two exchanged puzzled glances, waiting for an explanation.

“There’s a limit to how far we can be,” Natsu let himself fall into the chair. “Though I think that the boundary isn’t so defined when he’s asleep, but it’s better if I keep close enough in case he wakes up. Now, what are we doing?”

Erza blinked a couple of times then pointed to the books. “I was thinking about starting the research…” Happy flew past her with two large books that he placed in Natsu’s lap.

Natsu just nodded and opened one of the books, “Then let’s get started.”

They began the boring task of reading archaic tomes and trying to come up with any information of some sort that could somehow lift this veil of ignorance that they were under.

It wasn’t easy for Natsu to remain quiet and focused on what was in front of him. He felt too skittish physically and mentally all the questions that kept popping up made him feel even more restless. He got up abruptly which startled the others. Natsu paced alongside the wall that had the two bedroom doors, feeling his friends’ stares on his back but he _had_ to do something!

“It’s okay. Maybe we should stop for today…”

Natsu looked at Erza as if she had gone insane. Then he looked through the window and noticed how dusk was enveloping the sky. Natsu had completely forgotten about the world outside as he had had other worries.

“It’s already this late? But… it can’t be! I haven’t found anything that mattered in these books!” He pointed at the open book that was lying on the floor.

Erza’s mouth twitched a little at this, but she was not going to argue with Natsu about how to treat books, “You know that they won't all have the information we need. We must be patient and keep trying…” a small sense of pity was growing within her as she was watching the happy-go-lucky Natsu turn into this serious and haggard person. “Maybe if we talked to Levy…”

“No,” Natsu held up his hand to silence her. “We can’t. It’s good that Gray decided to let you know. But I don't think he'd want more people in on it…” he shook his head then leaned against the wall.

“But she’s much more used to this kind of research than us. We would be more efficient than this.” She closed the book in her lap and leaned back in the armchair.

“Look, Erza, I'm not saying she wouldn't be helpful but—“ he raked a hand through his air, "Just not now…"

Erza did not like seeing Natsu like this – not at all. She lifted her hands in a placating way then got up. “Alright, we won’t do anything, but for now I bet that you could eat something…” she had walked to Natsu and placed her hands on his shoulders. This finally brought a familiar sparkle to Natsu’s eyes and a faint smile at his lips.

“I wouldn’t mind…” he held Erza’s hands while he removed them from his shoulders, then straightened up from the wall and gave a small step. Stopping, he looked at the floor, a deep frown etching his features. “I think I’m not supposed to go further away…”

Erza stopped to look at him, slightly confused. “What do you mean?”

“Do you remember what I said about the boundary? I think this is it. I won’t risk it.”

“Then how are we supposed to do this? How are you going to go to the kitchen or the bathroom with that restriction?”

“I’ll have to wait.”

She stood there looking at him in a thoughtful manner, “….Well, don’t worry about that for now. I’ll prepare the meal.” She turned around and went to the kitchen.

Natsu gulped a little. It wasn’t that Erza was a bad (terrible!) cook, no – she had her days, but for most of them she would just crush the kitchen in such a way that only rubble was left. Among the three of them Erza was definitely the worst – in matters of food. And Natsu was here, almost chained to this small area.

He returned to his armchair, plopped into it and looked at Happy who was sleeping peacefully. His faithful friend, always supporting Natsu in any way he could. He should be completely exhausted with these consecutive changes that kept happening. Because, really, who would’ve thought that Natsu and Gray would end up in this position? If someone had told him this weeks ago, Natsu would have laughed and then punched the person for saying such a ridiculous thing. Of course the punch would be a light one, he had learned that lesson already; there was no need for the Master to have to yell at him because of the destruction of more property. He had learned and it had been a misunderstanding anyway… Wait a sec, what was he thinking about again? Oh, yeah, Gray! To tell the truth, Erza’s idea of calling Levy (as Lucy was still away taking care of her business at the council or whatever) was a good one, but it meant that more people would be aware of this matter – Gray would surely hate it. Yet they'd surely learn much more about this at a much faster pace.

This was so complicated! Having to balance seemingly incompatible sides. Natsu placed his hands behind his head and looked through the window. It was too dark. Stretching to the side he lit the lamp that was in the corner. Now that was better. With a sigh he returned to his sombre thoughts. What he had told Gray about the bond’s effects in him had been true. Well, he hadn’t had the time yet to think about it so he still wasn’t sure about how he felt. Heck, from what he remembered, it had been an extremely subtle pull. But did he really want to think about this? It seemed that he was on his way to a big headache – and he never had headaches!

Getting up from his chair, he entered Gray’s room. Just that made him feel more relaxed, now that he was seeing Gray. He sat on the bed and Gray instantly turned to him, scooting closer to his leg until his forehead was touching it. It startled Natsu a little, as he wasn’t really expecting this reaction. With a small sigh he combed Gray’s hair until it wasn’t over his eyes. He chuckled lightly at the strangeness of this action – if any of his friends saw him doing this they would think that either it wasn’t him (but a very similar person) or that he was under a magical spell of some sort. That’s how ironic this whole situation was. That train of thought made him realize what he was doing, making him stop and pull his hand back as if it had been scalded.

‘What am I doing?’ he questioned himself while shaking his head.

Outside this somewhat comfortable world Natsu could hear Erza calling. His stomach gave a loud rumble in anticipation. He needed food, food, food. And quickly!

A bit reluctantly, Natsu got up and returned to the living room.

“I imagined that you, a bottomless pit, would be quite hungry so here it is.” She placed a tray with five dishes - all had small piles of food – on a small table that had been dragged to the front of Natsu’s armchair. She sat on the large couch where Happy was already eating.

As they ate a thoughtful silence settled around them. It wasn’t uncomfortable per se, but right now things would be better if some words were left unsaid. Erza looked surprised when she came to pick Natsu’s tray – he only had eaten three of the five dishes, leaving the food from the other two to pile onto the empty plates. “Natsu, you've hardly eaten anything. What’s wrong? Was the food that bad?”

Natsu forced a smile and waved off her concern, “No, it was good actually,” he saw Erza’s eyebrows rise so much that it was almost comical. And she had a reason to be surprised, as never before had Natsu complimented Erza for her cooking (he always gave evasive answers). That said it! Natsu was not his regular self. “It’s just that I wasn’t hungry anymore.” He seemed to close off in that moment, turning to look through the window. Erza was about to ask him something more, but seeing his reaction she returned to the kitchen and took care of the dishes. Happy joined her after staying in the living room with a silent Natsu. He didn’t like how Natsu had retreated to his thoughts. So, to make the house a little more lively, he and Erza talked about whatever came to mind.

When the kitchen was clean they left it to come out to a room where apparently Natsu hadn’t moved a muscle. Erza’s lips arched downwards and she saw Happy looking pleadingly at her – as if she could do something to solve the situation. She couldn’t, unfortunately. She placed a hand on Natsu's shoulder to catch his attention. He flinched and looked up. Erza just smiled and, looking at Gray’s bedroom door, said, “We’ll be going now. Tomorrow I’ll come by again to see how you both are doing and bring food. The pantry’s almost empty.”

“Oh, huh, sure. But you’re going already? It’s still early…”

With an amicable punch on Natsu’s forearm Erza countered, “Just go to sleep. We all had a rough day and could use the rest. See you tomorrow.” And she headed to the front door.

Happy just hovered over Natsu uncertainly before waving a goodbye and following Erza. A sense of seriousness had enveloped the group, leaving them all tense. The door closed for the day and Natsu continued sitting in the same place, unmoving.

Finally, he got up and strode to the door, locking it quickly. Then he hurried up in the bathroom (why was he feeling so antsy?) before turning off the lights and returning to Gray’s room. Just as before, he relaxed as he noticed Gray’s outline on the bed.

‘This is crazy. Sleeping in the same bed as Gray _again_. We really have been sharing the bed too often...’ Natsu sighed as he sat on the mattress. Laying down and covering himself he couldn’t help but hope, 'Maybe this night will be uneventful.’

Closing his eyes Natsu felt when Gray leaned to his side. He didn’t notice when sleep overcame him.

~^~

The sun was shining brightly and birds were chirping happily when Natsu opened his eyes. He was lying on the dusty ground and looking at the blue sky and the green tree tops. He let himself be, relaxing for a few more minutes. So far this dream hadn’t been so bad – maybe it was a bit uncomfortable, but he could always get up and change to a more suitable position. Yes, he was going to do that. Sitting up Natsu was about to stand when, from behind, a well known voice sounded.

“Natsu?”

With a jump Natsu was up and turned towards where the voice had come from. Before him was Gray, looking a bit confused.

“Gray! What're you doing in my dream?”

“No, this is my dream. I was here first. Besides, this is the small forest behind the village where I used to live.”

“No. This is the forest near the place where I grew up. Over there’s a clearing where I used to train my techniques and if we go…” Natsu looked to his sides, trying to locate himself “…there!” he pointed, “…we’ll get to the cave where I used to live in.” he crossed his arms stubbornly. “I can show you if… you… want…” Natsu was recalling the disturbing dream from before. Yes, they needed to get to the cave so he could see if Igneel was okay. “Come on!” he motioned at Gray to follow him and they crossed the forest and climbed the hill before stopping outside the cave. This was way too familiar to Natsu – and not in a good way.

“See, I told you this was my dream. How could you know all these things if it weren’t?”

“No Natsu. I told you before. It _was_ the forest behind my village. You don’t know it but I swear you-“

Someone clearing their throat startled them, “In fact, this is a _dream_ -“ they could sense laughter in the voice when he said that word, “with both of you…”

Natsu and Gray turned back as one to face a boy and a woman.

“You! You're the ones from my dream!”

“So these are the strange people…” muttered Natsu at his side. He was looking attentively at their interlocutors. He was feeling something… An odd feeling. Not letting his guard down, he exchanged a glance with Gray. Somehow the others were up to something and if they were capable of hurting them they should remain alert.

The boy was short and had the expected blond hair but what startled Natsu more were the eyes. The bright green eyes seemed to pierce Natsu and see through him. He was wearing a dark-green long-sleeved shirt, brown pants and brown boots. A small cape hung around his shoulders. His expression was solemn and pleasant.

The woman by his side was also casually dressed, wearing a blood-red long-sleeved tunic and tight black pants. On her feet black boots.

She was the woman that had hurt Gray. Natsu’s blood started to boil, and it got even worst when she arched an eyebrow and smirked in a provocative way. He didn’t fail to notice that a strange symbol was embroidered in silver on their clothes; hers on the left shoulder and on him, the right sleeve.

“Finally, you’ve got here whole. Now we can start our business.” It was really, really weird to see what appeared to be a boy talk with a voice that was too mature.

“Well then, let’s begin!” with an almost imperceptible nod to his partner, the boy placed himself in front of Natsu at the same time that the woman had jumped and punched Gray, making him fall inside the cave.

‘What the hell is this?’ screamed Natsu inwardly at the same time that he adjusted his stance.

“Well, well, well. Pretending that we can fight, are we?” asked the boy in a mocking voice while he unlatched his cape and let it fall to the ground. And was it just Natsu or did it seem like the weather had changed?

“If you deem yourself ready, let’s go.” He hadn’t finished his sentence and was already on Natsu’s side, punching him on the face. Natsu fell down a step and growled, flames growing out from his fists. He attacked but was stopped easily by the other. ‘What’s this? Dragonslayer magic? Wait! Some sort of metallic dragon magic?’ he thought as he heard the ‘clang’ at some of his unsuccessful attacks. “What are you?” he asked, thunderstruck.

“That’s for me to know and you to find out.” He answered as he dodged easily yet another attack from Natsu.

This was unnerving Natsu, the way the other was effortlessly evading his attacks and the fact that Natsu was in a bad position – and he knew it – as he wasn't able to see how Gray was faring.

 ‘Come on!’ he shouted at himself. Then he found himself on the defence, trying to protect himself from the attacks that were raining down on him. He managed to throw the other back but then a piercing pain shot through his right leg. Natsu kneeled on the ground, gritting his teeth at the pain, while Gray’s pained gasp resonated through the small hill and interior of the cave. Natsu looked to where Gray was fighting and saw that he was on the ground, a thick bar of metal going through his right leg. He then scrambled to get up, slowly, and managed to do so.

Natsu’s focus returned to himself when the boy said, “Do you think that I’m going to spare you just because you’re in a bad position?” he kicked Natsu in the stomach, lifting him from the ground and making him fall a few meters away. The boy continued, “Think again…”

Natsu rolled over to stand up and steadied himself again to be hit by the worst pain he ever remembered feeling, right in the center of his chest. Natsu fell to the hard ground again and, gasping, he looked towards Gray.

What he saw made him see red.

Gray was standing up and grabbing the woman’s arm. But the arm was traversing his chest in such a way that the bloodied hand could be seen wriggling on the other side. Gray was coughing blood and much more was seeping from his wounds in large gouges. Despite the distance Natsu could see how he was trembling as he was uttering some aggressive words at the woman (who was smiling slightly). That’s when things got even stranger. A cold breeze past them, making their clothes flap and then a bright blue light appeared in the place where Gray was. For some instants the light blinded them all and they could hear the woman yell, “Don’t you think of it!” then a clinking sound was heard. When the light disappeared, Gray was lying on the ground, ice coming out of his wound in an attempt to stop the bleeding, but to no avail. The woman was a couple of steps away from him, with a tense stance.

Natsu got up, enraged, and pushed the boy away with a well aimed fiery kick and approached the woman quickly. She tried to stop him and did escape Natsu’s fiery fist but didn’t expect the tail of the fire to twitch in a controlled manner and surround her, becoming a fiery rope that Natsu threw away haphazardly. He ran and knelt beside Gray, panic coursing through him.

“Nononono. Come on Gray! You’re not going to be defeated by this. Not now…” he looked dismayed at the layer of ice covering Gray’s body. Gently Natsu grabbed the other mage’s shoulders and noticed that the ice receded. Unintentionally he touched a nasty scratch on his shoulder and was startled when a thin thread of smoke emerged from where his hand connected with the shoulder. When he took the hand away he saw that the scratch had disappeared and the skin was now healed. Gulping he laid Gray on the ground and was about to work when the crunch of gravel was heard. He looked up and wasn’t surprised to see that the others were getting close.

“Go away!” he roared and a wall of flames burst to life, making it impossible for the others to enter the cave (they tried but it looked like someone had built an invisible wall). Natsu focused back on Gray and, biting his lower lip in uncertainty, started touching Gray’s half frozen body. He still had to pull out the metal bar and he did so quickly, placing his hand on the wound and saw, amazed, as a large amount of pink smoke rose from it and soon after the wound had disappeared.

Finally he only had the chest wound to ‘heal’. Giving it a bit of thought, Natsu decided to lift him in a way that both his hands were on each side of Gray's chest. A large gust of pink smoke came up and for some instants they were covered by it. Then it lessened and Natsu noticed that the extreme rigidity that he had presented as he was being encased in ice had disappeared. Gray’s face was scrunched up in discomfort and after a little bit of muttered cajoling on Natsu’s part he opened his eyes. He looked up inquisitively, his skin still drenched in blood. They looked to the side at the sound of clapping hands.

“Bravo! What an amazing test!” the boy was clapping and managed to cross the wall of flames at the same time that it died down. The woman was also clapping and grinning from ear to ear.

“Indeed. They performed much better than expected.”

Natsu and Gray looked completely lost.

“A test!? What the hell are you talking about?” demanded Natsu.

The other two seemed to not have heard the question as they kept talking excitedly.

“This was so much better than expected!”

“Yes, one of the strongest bonds that I can remember."

“Much stronger that the one from… Oh, and you can’t compare it with those-“

“No, you can’t. And do you remember the one with that girl?”

“She was terrible, and didn’t get almost anything. I still wonder how she did so well…"

“You sure do…”

“Hey! Could you please explain us what the hell’s going on?” Natsu was holding Gray up and they were both looking expectantly at them.

The others shrugged a little before the boy took a step ahead and made a deep bow, being followed by the woman.

“We are going to be your mentors in the bond.”

~^~

Gray hadn’t managed to shake himself of the shock of facing these people when the woman threw a punch that sent him flying to the cave’s entrance. He quickly scrambled up before she had time to hit him again. But no, she was just standing in front of him as if waiting for him to get into position to face her. He did so, though he couldn’t help but feel a little (okay, a lot) unsettled about this. After all, he had already faced her in battle before and the results hadn’t exactly been in his favor. Hell, Natsu had to save him before! And he was in no position to do anything now as he was barely defending himself from the boy’s attacks. No, Gray was on his own against this opponent – even if he knew perfectly well that he was at a disadvantage. Gods! What was going on in this place? One minute they were talking in a friendly manner and in the next they were jumping at their throats. It was extremely disturbing.

A smirk had crept into the woman’s features as she stated, “Here we meet again. Do you have any thoughts?”

Gray just stared at her. He somehow knew that he wasn’t going to like whatever was about to happen next…

As for now this – could he consider it a fight yet? – hadn’t picked up its pace yet, Gray stood up straight and tried to calm himself and concentrate. He forcefully controlled his breathing. He could do it – he knew it! Gray got into a fighting stance and closed his eyes. He could feel it. His magic was there. Buried deep down and locked behind heavy bindings, but there. Opening his eyes cautiously Gray saw that the woman was just waiting patiently for him. Did she want him to attack first? This strange behavior puzzled Gray. Well, if she was waiting for him he wasn’t going to disappoint her now, was he? Breathing deeply he tried to reach for his magic.

It was impossible. The ice wasn’t reacting to his calling – he might as well be a normal person trying to mold a piece of ice into something by strength of will. So he was going to have to do it the hard way, huh?

Apparently the woman’s patience had run out as she gave a sudden huff, and in the next instant she was standing in front of him, her left fist raised and covered with some dark-grey substance. Gray dodged it by throwing himself to the ground, rolling and standing up again. He ran to her and punched her in the jaw with all the might he could muster – only managing to throw her slightly off-balance.

“This isn’t so easy without your magic, is it?” these muttered words made Gray pause momentarily and that was when she lifted her left hand, made a lazy circle in the air and from that action a metal bar appeared.

Gray looked at her suspiciously. What was this? Not only did she have the advantage, but she also had access to accessories? He watched as she put her arm down, twirling the bar until it disappeared. Then pain flared from Gray’s right leg. He looked down and saw that the bar was embedded in his flesh, already a trail of warm, sticky blood flowing down his leg. It hurt, but, he wouldn’t go down that easily, that was for sure.

Suddenly the bar started growing towards her left hand – a grayish tone glowing in the whole length of the metal. This couldn’t be happening, right? Gray saw how her smirk got sharper with a flash of white teeth before the glow grew and with it, the bar. The pain intensified as the metal was also enlarging the wound. Unfortunately that pain was nothing when compared with what he felt as she began gyrating it, forcefully enlarging the hole and making Gray gasp out loud at the pain. Then she stopped and seemed to cut the connection to the metal bar, it receding to its former length. At that moment Gray’s legs decided to stop supporting his weight and he collapsed to the ground. With a ragged breath he got up, returning to a fight stance as the woman mocked and taunted him.

Gray couldn’t take out the metal bar from his leg or the blood would rush out of his body much faster, but on the other hand it hindered his mobility plenty. Now he was even worse then before.

How was this going to end?

Luckily for him – or more accurately, unluckily for him – the woman decided to return to action as she had already been way too patient during this fight. She appeared in front of Gray and, with a serious face, she extended her right hand (that had returned to its former claw-like form) and without saying a word shoved it through Gray’s chest. She used so much strength that her fingers came out on the other side of his body.

“Let’s see how you’re going to get around this one.” She said while wriggling her fingers on the other side – Gray could feel them moving.

This whole thing was, of course, extremely painful to Gray as his whole body was enveloped in successive waves of agony, making his breathing hitch and his mind almost shut down at the crippling pain. Gray’s hands flew to the arm in a sort of reflect act. He held it with all the strength he possessed, his nails piercing the skin. His teeth came out in a feral grin. “You—” he stopped to cough blood that stained his chin, “You can- be sure th-that if I’m going down you-you’re c-coming with m-me…” his words were interrupted once again as another coughing fit hit him.

Paying these words no heed, the woman’s smile just grew and she said in a low tone, “I’d like to see what you’ll do…”

Gray gasped when he felt something within unlock, feeling a whole wave of power surging and almost overwhelming him. He only had time to mutter “Then, here we go…” before his magic blasted from his core and enveloping him in frozen but tender arms. The worst area was already feeling numb and Gray heard the woman shriek something but other than the feeling of a weight lifting from his shoulders and the clear sound of crystal breaking were heard before he let himself go, losing control of his body for the peace of the darkness. He didn’t care that he was retracting to his core, where he stood balled up on his side and trying to rest. This lightly dark blue place wasn’t that bad. It was calm, he wasn’t hurting and felt protected.

But then something decided to bother him. A tiny wisp of a red-orange-pink flame flickered in front of him. Gray groaned in frustration. Why couldn’t they just let him go during the… What was this? In fact, where was he? The last thing he remembered was of the arm piercing his chest. Oh. That couldn’t be good. Had it killed him? But that meant that he had been killed in the dream. What happened when one died in a dream? Because he sure as Feres wasn’t awake so the mystery really was: where was he? And what the hell was this flame that just was getting bigger and bigger? Then for some reason it grew and divided, creating a lot of smaller flames. A rumble came from under him, beyond the invisible platform where he was standing (as this blue ‘room’ had no visible structures) then a large jet of smoke came up, enveloped him and continued up. When this ended Gray found himself surrounded by flames, some of them were licking his legs through the fabric of the pants, others were on his arms and torso (and this made him wonder if he even had been wearing a shirt in this whole dream thing). Strangely the flames didn’t hurt him, on the contrary, they soothed him and told him that it was okay to go back. Then the whole set of flames when down and started pushing Gray up, up to where the black ceiling was. Gray looked down when he was fairly above the place where he had been and heard the sound of heavy locks closing again. That was it, his magic had been locked again.

Gray returned to a conscious state, feeling and hearing as someone urged him to open his eyes. He did and his bleary eyes locked with the ones of a very worried Natsu. A clapping sound interrupted this moment and the boys turned to see the two people before chatting excitedly. Gray couldn’t exactly make out the words that they were saying as his mind was still hazy. But he heard clearly when Natsu tried to question them about the strange things that they were saying but was completely ignored.

He slowly got Gray up and they stood with Natsu holding most of Gray’s weight as he had thrown a hand around his waist. He questioned them a bit forcefully and that finally made them react and answer, though what they said was a complete shock.

“We are your mentors,” said the boy as both of them gave a bow.

Gray’s legs chose that moment to give in and if it weren’t for Natsu’s support he would’ve fallen to the floor in a disgraceful heap. This way he was lowered slow and carefully until he was sitting.

Then both Natsu and Gray exclaimed in unison, “What!?!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Betaed by Shiny Pichu-Chan. :3


	27. The First Trial

A large gust of wind passed dangerously close to Lucy and sliced through the large stone pillars, making the immense structures crumble and fall in a large cloud of dust.

Lucy knelt and saw, wearily, what could’ve happened to her if not for her quick reflexes. She was holding her right arm – where she still held the whip – as her left hand attempted to cover the wound and stop the flow of blood.

Much time had passed since she had looked pristine while hearing her sentence. Even if it had only been that morning. As a matter of fact, that seemed so far away – ages ago even. For now she was covered in grime, dust and blood. Her beautiful dress that had been so white, was now tattered; the skirt had been cut in a hurry so the pieces that remained were uneven. Brown smudges covered the left side of the skirt, and they were a sign of the times in which she had had to throw herself to the ground. Blood blots were all over the right side and a stripe had been ripped off to be wrapped around her arm – unfortunately that hadn’t worked very well as the fabric had quickly become drenched in blood and discarded to the ground.

Lucy looked at both sides of the large boulder where she was hiding. The crunch of gravel told her that the enemy was close. On the other side of the boulder, most likely. Then the noises stopped and only a light ‘tap tap’ was heard before a slight shadow appeared on the ground.

Lucy looked up and, as she had feared, the other was on top of the boulder, looking attentively at her, the long part of her weapon resting lovingly against her left shoulder.

Then ivory teeth appeared in stark contrast against her dark skin, the grin not announcing anything good for Lucy. With a small jump she was in front of the stellar mage while twirling her weapon. With a flick of her wrist a large black ball that was attached to the staff came crashing against the boulder – smashing it to pieces.

Lucy tried to regain her breath. ‘Another one too close for comfort...’ She had escaped marginally from yet another wave of destruction. ‘And this is just the first trial—’ she got up in time to evade another attack. ‘I wonder how the others are if the first is like this…’

Lucy ran back to the area that still contained a number of erect pillars. She knew that there was some distance between her and her foe as the other was taking her time. She was well positioned so a small sigh left her. Lucy closed her eyes and took another deep breath. Not long after she started frowning. She opened her eyes and glanced to the sides, ‘It’s no use. I can’t feel them…’

She bit her lower lip nervously.

The pillar in front of her crumbled with yet another blast and the force threw Lucy to the ground. Then a blur was coming right at her. There was no time! No time to move, no time to breathe.

Then, right when the blade was about to reach Lucy’s face, a cloud of smoke enveloped them.

~^~

Lucy had just arrived to the large arcade that led to the Touch Area. She was once again surrounded by white. Sculptures of some of the archaic mages were peeking at her from niches on the walls. It was an uncomfortable feeling, like being watched.

Shrugging, she headed to the large open red doors. Inside, more than twenty mages turned to her the moment she set foot in the room. They were there standing and waiting for her.

As Lucy entered the large room they stepped aside to let her pass. She came to a stop in front of Hilas. He greeted her gravely and extended his left hand. Lucy took it and was led further inside to the centre of the room. She noticed that from the darkness two figures emerged. Peribeia was walking regally, while two steps behind a dark-skinned girl followed. Lucy almost had to do a double take, as people with skin that dark were rare –  it was actually the first time in these years away from her father that she had seen a person with a skin tone as dark as hers. Lucy only had the time to look slightly curious as Hilas started talking and she had to shift her attention.

“Celestial Mage Lucy Heartfilia, this will be your opponent for the trial. Merope Firomag from the Southern Continent.” He turned to her and gave a small bow as he joined his hands inside his large sleeves. Peribeia wasn’t saying anything. She just had a look on her face that unnerved Lucy. Then again, she was most likely plotting for ways to give Lucy a hard time.

The foreigner was standing in her expected pose, though the feeling of discomfort oozing from her was almost palpable.

Hilas made a hand sign and from behind, the sound of the mages stepping back indicated that something was really about to happen. Then the ground started rumbling and in front of them, through a veil of smoke, a large plane had appeared. In some parts it was a lush forest, in others an arid or a rocky zone, even ruins, while a river flowed peacefully and cut the landscape like a silvery-blue serpent.

Extending his hands to both sides, Hilas waited until both girls answered to the unsaid message. When they placed their hands on his, he started walking, crossing the smoke veil.

It was truly a new world, with wind, new sounds and odors. Hilas started explaining. “This is the area where the trial will take place. As you may already have noticed, there are seven different areas. Now, each of you must invoke six of your spirits. Do not worry, this is a special place where you may do so without problem. Each of your spirits will face the other’s spirits, and in some areas you may command or guide your spirit while in others you can’t. You will also have a small area in the centre where you can only trust the weapon of your choice.” He turned to Lucy, “You will pass this trial if you have four victories. In the case of only having three victories your case will be discussed and with your performance we’ll come to a decision if we want you to progress to our ranks. Is that clear?” He looked to both girls. “Good, now I’ll give you some time to choose you spirits.” He moved away.

Lucy picked her keys carefully and looked at them. Then at her surroundings. Then at the other girl that now had her back turned to her. Lucy thought a bit about what keys she should choose.

This was most likely going be a place involving several fights, so the logical action would be to choose the stronger keys, right? Yes, she had made up her mind. Holding her keys she called her spirits, one by one. Five were already out and looking at her seriously. There was only one missing. With a heavy sigh and walking to the river’s shore she invoked Aquarius. The water started swirling and parted around the spirit’s form. Aquarius stood there, silent, staring at Lucy.

“Um… Glad you could make it…” she said in a nervous voice. “We… we’re here for the first trial?” she added in a small voice while taking a step back.

Aquarius had just leaned forward. In a low, threatening voice she replied, “Yes, let’s go. And we’re going to have a little chat after…” She let the threat hang and watched how Lucy shrank. Then she traveled to where the other spirits were lined up. Lucy let go of another sigh and hurried after her. She felt like she had dodged the bullet once again.

Hilas returned to stand between Lucy and Merope. The six spirits were behind both of them. He extended his hands where they placed the key chains with the remaining spirits.

He cleared his voice and turned to where the other mages were, “We may now begin the trial. The Celestial Mage Marpessa will be using the following spirits: Guǐ, Wěi, Niú, Bì, Shēn and Nǚ. The Celestial Mage Lucy will use the following spirits: Aquarius, Taurus, Sagittarius, Leo, Virgo and Draco. Both may call forth a weapon of their choice. Under the stars design, may the trial begin.” With that said, he left the arena.

Lucy looked at the other and noticed her defiant air before she turned around and called for her weapon.

‘Yeah, I should do that too while I still have the time...’

“I request my weapon of choice,” Lucy said in a mutter. Before her a small whirlwind dissipated and left Lucy’s whip to fall into her waiting hands. When she turned back to her spirits they were dissolving and being swept by the wind.

“They must’ve been taken to their areas. We must go to the first area to begin,” said Marpessa in a slightly raspy voice.

So they started walking to the first area, side by side. They had entered a forest and when they got to a less dense area Lucy saw the first couple of spirits. Virgo and a small boy with a tail.

Sensing a shift in the air Lucy ran to her spirit. She noticed how her opponent had done the same.

“Master,” Virgo acknowledged her with a slight bow.

“Virgo, do you have any idea on how this’ll work?”

“I’m not sure, but apparently you will duel with the other’s spirit until one side is clearly the winner…”

“Do you know him?” Lucy looked anxiously at the small boy and his long tail.

“I’m afraid not. But I do advise caution, as he is stronger than he looks.”

Lucy took the advice seriously as she eyed her opponents. Only now did she have some time to fully look at them. Merope was dressed in white like Lucy and the contrast that the white cloth made against the dark skin still amazed Lucy. However, unlike Lucy, she was wearing a tunic that ended above her knees, that was cut by a bodice and a waistband. Underneath she had shorts. A strange sign in black adorned the bottom of the tunic and she had more strange embroideries on her left sleeve and right pant-leg. She wore a bandana in her hair and a strange staff was hanging on her back by a sort of rope. She was talking to her spirit, a small boy that despite his height looked very athletic. He had red hair and tail and his shirt and shorts were in various hues of blue. When he turned his face to Lucy she could see that the eyes were slits, black hard slits.

Lucy gulped. In that moment a voice boomed loudly in the forest, “First match, Virgo versus Wěi. Begin.”

Lucy was pushed back by an invisible force and in that way the trial had begun.

Both spirits stood looking wary and apparently were measuring the other’s strength. Then it started for good. Virgo dove into the ground where she dug a hole, the earth that was flying shielded her from the azure leaves (Lucy’s eyes opened wide at this) that the other had thrown with a flick of the tail. Then he jumped into the fissure Virgo had made.

From that moment on, combat occurred underground. From ground level, the only signs of something happening were rumbling of the ground, occasional jets of sand erupting and a strange blue light that flashed erratically.

There wasn’t much that Lucy could do for Virgo, as this was one of the matches in which she could only hope for the other to be successful. She could only watch. Until she sensed something behind, that is.

Merope was running towards Lucy, staff in hand. She swung it and Lucy only had time to grab the handle of her whip and block it. For tense instants they stood like that. Time would have seemed to have frozen around them if not for the sounds of their spirits clashing in the background.

“You hadn’t forgotten that the spirits aren’t the only ones that are being tested and have something to prove, had you?”

Lucy’s answer was a small growl in the back of her throat as she brought her left hand to the staff. The balance between them was instantly broken as Merope was leaning heavily on her weapon to counteract Lucy’s stance. So when the shift happened and Lucy took a step to her right side Merope almost fell to the ground. She caught herself quickly, however.

On her side, Lucy let the whip unfurl and prepared to face the other. She had a feeling of strangeness weighting down on her and apprehension was growing in the back of her mind as she knew that if her whip failed, she couldn’t use her keys and invoke any of her spirits.

Standing in front of Lucy, Merope had been doing small movements – the only perceptible one being her sliding the silver piece that covered the middle of the staff. Lucy was sure that she had only taken her eyes of her opponent for one second and was shocked in the other when the staff had suffered a strange change. It had two large chains sprouting from the bottom of the staff that were attached to a black ball on the end. The whole ensemble looked quite heavy and dangerous and Merope seemed to be getting momentum to swing it towards Lucy. Before she could do anything a loud rumble shook the ground and Virgo and Wěi were on the surface again. There was a certain air of finality falling upon them.

The spirits stood still once again, breathing heavily. Then, before Virgo could move a muscle to make a move, Wěi’s tail caught her. It had been gliding unnoticed on the ground until it curled around her left foot and gave a hard pull. Virgo started falling and the tail wrapped around her body. The blue light that had been flashing and the blue leaves that Lucy had seen before appeared again. The leaves covered the tail at the same time that it started squeezing the trapped body. The blue light glowed brighter and in the following moment Virgo was falling to the ground, where she disappeared in a cloud of dust.

A disembodied voice echoed, saying “End of first match. Winner – Merope and Wěi.”

The forest where they were standing started changing and Lucy found herself on top of a boulder in a rocky plane. Tufts of grass appeared here and there but the white, grey and sometimes brown of the rocks and gravel took up the scenery.

Lucy looked down and noticed that she was still holding her whip in her right hand. This startled her and made her turn around quickly. Merope wasn’t behind her, thankfully.

With a relieved huff she climbed down off the large rock. The dress really hindered her movements; she was going to need to arrange that…

When she got to the ground she noticed Merope’s form ahead, behind two spirits that occupied the centre of the place. It was strange to notice that they were of similar built. Seeing the ax on the back of the one that was facing Merope relieved her quite a bit. She hurried to his side.

The spirit looked at her and was about to begin one of his pervy tirades when the disembodied voice spoke again, “Second match: Taurus versus Niú. Begin.”

Lucy took a couple of steps back to give Taurus space. She tightened her grip on the whip. She surely was going to have to fight Merope and continue what had been started. Biting her lower lip she waited for things to begin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Betaed by Shiny Pichu-Chan. :3
> 
> Glossary:  
> Wěi – Tail  
> Niú – Ox  
> Nǚ – Girl  
> Bì – Net  
> Shēn – Three Stars  
> Guǐ – Ogre/Demon, Ghost


	28. Moving on

“What are you saying?”

“What does that mean?”

Yes, to say that they were surprised was an understatement. They looked stunned at the two figures in front of them then at each other. This was something that had really, really taken them by surprise.

Natsu was quicker to get himself together. He let go of Gray – carefully – and stood up. He stopped in front of Gray, acting as a barrier between them and asked again, “So this was just a test to satisfy your morbid curiosity? And… mentoring us?” he gave a small snort at the same time that he crossed his arms, “What if we don’t want – don’t need – mentors?”

The woman, who had been looking at him with interest, took a step forward and growled at Natsu. Her face was a mask of fury and she would’ve gotten to Natsu if the boy hadn’t placed his arm in front of her.  He looked at Natsu with an arched eyebrow. “I don’t think that you have much choice. Besides, if you let go of that useless pride, you’ll see that you have much to benefit from associating with us. There are lots of things that we can teach you, help you with your haywire bond and relay some information that you’ve been searching for so long…”

He let the words hang in the space between them and watched for the effect that they had on the dragon slayer.

Natsu stood, gaping. Information? What information could he have that… Igneel! No. He couldn’t know. Surely not. But if he did… and they could help them with the bond, so it didn’t exactly matter that they had the worst taste or that they were crazy to the point of going to the lengths they had gone with them – and just for a test!

Shaking his head slightly, he turned so that he was looking at Gray but could continue to pay attention to the others. He kneeled beside the other and helped him get up. They exchanged some quick words.

“What do you think we should do?”

Gray looked at the others then back at Natsu, “I don’t know. It may be better, I mean, it can’t be worse than not knowing anything. Maybe they can help…”

“But I don’t trust them,” Natsu’s eyes shifted quickly from Gray to the other two who were just looking at them, waiting for an answer.

Gray almost let out a snort and shot Natsu an incredulous look, “And after what they did to me do you think I do? But right now it hurts more not to know things,” he let out a weary sigh, “and I’m tired of hurting. Seriously.”

They stopped when Gray was standing and wavered a bit. Natsu placed a possessive hand around his waist. They took some more steps until they were in front of the others. They were taller than the boy so it almost appeared like they towered over him – if not for his attitude and confident aura of power that emanated from him in waves – the situation would be quite laughable.

Exchanging one last glance, Natsu started to speak, “Alright, we accept you as our mentors. But that doesn’t mean that we trust you for the time being.  Or that you have a right to pull another one like the one from before. ‘cause if you do, I don’t care if this is a dream or whatever because I’ll find you and make you pay!” Natsu’s voice was hard as steel.

The woman threw her head back and laughed, at the same time that the boy was more discreet in his reaction. He grew up a little and in the next moment he was clapping on Natsu’s back with enough strength to almost throw the boys to the ground.

“That’s how a true Dragonslayer speaks!”

But this effusive moment ended quite quickly. Sobering up, the woman announced, “We must do a small ritual before we may begin teaching you…” she looked to the horizon and ended up frowning. “Unfortunately we won’t be able to do it today.”

The boy, who had regained his previous and smaller appearance looked at her and asked, “What do you mean, can’t do it today? We have—” he was shut by her head shake. Then he looked in the same direction she had and muttered a curse. Turning back to the boys he spoke, “She’s right, we can’t do this today. But it’s alright. You were going to wake soon anyway…” he shrugged. “You will notice that things here happen differently from the outside world. You’ll see some improvements but everything in due time.” he clapped his hands and his sleeves slid down his arms. On his right forearm four distinct scars made a stark contrast with the otherwise unblemished skin. Noticing that the others had seen his scars he just arched an eyebrow before continuing (as he subtly covered his arms). “We’ll see you again as soon as possible, we don’t have much time to spare.”

With those words echoing around them, the world started to darken before the ground disappeared from under their feet.

They held each other as they fell, the other was the only proof that they had some sense of touch.

That is, until only darkness existed.

~^~

Natsu woke with a start. He sat on the bed looking around, until he noticed Gray and how he was having some troubles in his sleep, looking agitated but his weak body wasn’t exactly able to follow the movements that he ought to be making. Sweat was making his skin glisten in the weak light of the morning.

Because it was morning! After that strange dream things were looking a bit different. Oh well, it was a brand new day and he didn’t have time to be thinking about dreams no matter how real or strange they may have been. His stomach growled and that was a sign for him to wake Gray. He started by shaking the other’s shoulder, but as the ice mage ignored him he decided that he might as well change tactics. He threw the covers back and- stopped.

There was blood on the bed. And that blood had come from Gray. He scrunched up his nose as he picked up the now strong scent. Maybe he hadn’t felt it before because he hadn’t been quite awake? Nevermind that. Now he had to see from where the blood had come from. He saw where the large stains were but when he moved Gray’s body to see better, there were no marks that indicated where the blood had come from. Sitting back on the bed he noticed that there was something familiar about the location of the blood – and presumable wounds.

‘The wounds are in the same places as the ones that woman made on Gray’s body at the test!’ he blinked as he let that thought hit him. Then he was really _hit_ by the thought. ‘It was real. All of it. The dream, the test, the so-called mentors…’

He felt a new sense of urgency at having Gray up. The dream had been true and that meant that many other things must be true and Gray had to be awake so that they could talk. And take a bath or so. Only when he was having such difficulty waking Gray did he think that he also needed a lot of rest to regain his strength. That made him pause for a moment – only to restart shaking him. He could rest again after and maybe this was a bit selfish on Natsu’s part but he didn’t want to be awake and alone with these thoughts, these things that were adding to the stress of the bond. Sure, they said that they were going to help them but there were too many things inside and outside.

“Gray. Gray! Wake up, Gray,” he started the second round of waking him up. By then Gray’s hands were trying to hold onto Natsu wherever they could, restlessly. He only stopped when Natsu placed a hand on his forehead and felt how warm he was. He shouldn’t be warm like this… That was it! Natsu got up, grabbed Gray (and why did it feel like he was always doing this? Oh, right, lately he was…) and went to the bathroom. This was a replay from Calidonis! Except that, for now, Gray was still sort of asleep. He quickly handled that, letting some drops of water fall on his face.

With a small grunt Gray opened his eyes and, was it Natsu or did he appear to be relieved at being awake? Had the dream from before been a nightmare? He helped Gray to his feet and wasn’t the least surprised when he had to hold him before he fell to the floor. At least some things were still the same. He made Gray sit on the toilet and turned to the tub, opening the faucets and letting it fill. This was just like before, Gray was already complaining about the water’s temperature.

“So, Gray, I don’t know if you remember your dreams from today, but I had a dream with you in it. And those two you mentioned before.”

Gray got up with a jump and from that nearly fell on top of Natsu who was kneeling in front of the tub. He could’ve hit his head on the rim of the tub. But thankfully Natsu’s reflexes saved him and he was laid on the bathroom floor where, for several minutes, he contented with regaining his breath.

“You also had that dream? I can’t believe it.” With some effort he came to a sitting position, back against the wall. Only then did he notice the blood that was on his right leg and on the bandages that covered his torso, the fabric completely of a brownish-red color. He looked at Natsu, alarmed. His only answer was the other’s eyes looking back at him with the same conclusion. It hadn’t been a dream.

Gray let his head fall back against the wall and gave a dark chuckle, “At least now I get it when they said that it wasn’t a dream. If this can be the result…” he closed his eyes briefly. When he opened them it was to look at Natsu who decided to ignore him, turning back to the tub and adjusting the water.

“We better talk about it later. Now we should get you in the tub.”

“Let me check the water first, with you I can never be sure.”

“What does that mean?” Natsu pretended to be offended.

“Just as I expected, the water’s too warm. See?” he splashed some at Natsu, who in return put his hand in the water and heated it a little bit more.

“Oops, sorry. I didn’t want to do this but you know how clumsy I can be…” he countered with a haughty smirk.

Gray was slightly amused so he grabbed one of the bottles and threw it at Natsu, who dodged it as he opened the cold water faucet.

At almost the precise moment that the cold water hit the surface of the water Gray said, “Stop! The water’s good.”

Natsu stopped, confused. He looked at Gray and saw that he had his hand in the water and was looking comfortable. But that was impossible. It was still too warm for Gray – at least, usually it would be, so what was going on in here?

He heard Gray sighing tiredly. “Help me?”

Natsu was beside Gray in a flash and helping him out of the clothes and bandages and into the tub. There was something here that Natsu wasn’t understanding, at all, but there was nothing he could do at the moment, as they had to hurry and get ready before Erza and Happy got there with food.

With a few minor incidents Gray was out of the tub and enveloped in a towel (yep, Natsu had forgotten about the clothes) while Natsu took a quick shower. They were out of the bathroom in no time but something felt different between them. They hadn’t said a word to each other about that matter and, by the looks of it, they weren’t going to bring it up. They dried up distractedly and Natsu was only asked to help with minor things.

Finally they were in the living room, both of them on the large couch because despite not wanting to speak, they needed the closeness.

Natsu’s stomach growled loudly and he looked at Gray apologetically, “Sorry about that, but Erza said that you didn’t have enough food so we have to wait for them…”

“There must be something over there—” he was cut when his stomach answered with a growl of his own. “Come on, let’s go see what we find.”

They got up and were on their slow way to the kitchen when the doorbell rang. They changed their course and came to open the door. They were greeted by Erza who was carrying many heavy bags and Happy holding a bag of greenery that could almost fill a garden. He was mewling about something but his eyes were twinkling as so were Erza’s.

“Boys, it’s good to see you’re up.”

And with that they pushed into the house.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Betaed by Shiny Pichu-Chan. :3


	29. Books, Dust and Stories

They sat at the kitchen table, eating in companionable silence, completely relaxed.

Setting up the food had been quite an adventure as Gray had seen the results of Erza in his kitchen and he didn’t think that Natsu could do something edible so he ordered them around  for a while and prepared the food. Natsu had been on his side the whole time because of the bond and also because he was a little more trustworthy than Erza, around food. Erza had sat down, with a slightly offended look (one could also call it a pout) and started the conversation, pulling the others in.

When food was ready they started eating and the silence was light, at first, but soon became too heavy. Erza broke it. “Well boys, as expected, we’re going to spend the day with you. Later I’ll go to the Guild and pick more books that the Master thought that could be of some use to us. He said he was going to leave them with Mirajane before he left-“

Natsu made a small pause as he picked another piece of food and asked, “Leave? Where did he go?”

Erza’s eyes widened a little before she remembered why they hadn’t been at the Guild that morning. “Right, you weren’t there. Apparently he was called. He said something about the Master of Blue Pegasus needing him. And now that I think about it, Poluchka was going with him… That’s odd…” she tapped her chin with a finger, pensively.

“What do you think about it?” Gray asked quickly, also thinking about reasons for the matter.

Erza took a gulp of her alinon juice and placed the tumbler on the table, shrugging.

“I don’t know. A couple of scenarios are crossing my mind but without talking to the Master nothing’s for sure…”

The sound of a plate hitting the table top made both of them look at Natsu. He had a serious look as he piled his dishes. “For now I think that we should worry with what we have…”

After a small pause the other two agreed.

They ended breakfast in a somewhat lighter note and were only allowed to move to the living room when the kitchen was in order.

Finally, they went to the living room and sat, grabbing books and continuing the boring and time consuming task of searching for any kind of information about the bond.

Natsu and Gray were sitting on the couch, legs touching and they tried to immerse themselves on the old and intricate sayings of these long forgotten books. Happy had been sitting on Natsu’s other side but with the flipping of the pages some dust fell on him and he started to sneeze. In the end he went to lie down under the window, where the sun was hitting. It didn’t take long until he was napping.

Erza was sitting on the same armchair from the previous day. She was reading one of the largest volumes.

In front of them the poor table was holding the piles of heavy books, emitting some creaks from time to time. Despite its sturdiness, Erza’s treatment had been a little rougher than it could handle.

And so, they read and time continued passing by. Books were pulled from the pile, read anxiously and thrown to the floor in exasperation (of course that this was Natsu’s behavior). Erza was also doing her part at a more sedated pace. Strangely, Gray was still glued to the first book that he had picked. Natsu noticed (during one of his outbursts) how still he was, eyes devouring the words, almost as if it were Lucy or Levi there instead of Gray. By being looking at him so attentively Natsu was able to see the shift in Gray. From one moment to the other his eyes widened slightly, he tried to take a deep breath but was unable to. His grip on the book tightened until his knuckles were white and were almost to the point of bending the hard cover.

Natsu looked at him, alarmed. Now what?

Gray continued to struggle for breath, only able to partially bring in his much needed air. Natsu scooted closer to him and put a hand on his forearm. Gray’s breading eased a bit and then a sudden urge that felt completely foreign to Natsu compelled him to put his arm around Gray’s shoulders, making their sides flush against each other. Natsu felt a bit weirded out as this was very out of character for him but he let that slide when he heard and felt Gray’s breathing return to normal.

“You sure you’re alright?” he asked Gray, still worried.

In return Gray just nodded, his eyes never rising from the pages that had his attention. Natsu found this odd but was only able to exchange a look with Erza before picking another book and continue his task.

Just, why did it have to be so boring?

~^~

Gray was feeling much better now that the crisis had past and he could read now too. No longer gazing at the pages and not comprehending a thing.

Why did this happen to him? And every single time!

He looked at the pages before him and hoped that Natsu’s presence was enough to protect him, maybe now that they were closer he wouldn’t have to feel that pain again because, in Aqueloo’s name, sitting here while focusing on this book just to be slapped by a pain that sprouted from the middle of his chest and that gave him trouble breathing – well, that wasn’t very productive.

Those few moments in which he had struggled to breathe had been excruciating and despite knowing that he had suffered worse well, right now that wasn’t very comforting because he _was_ in pain…

But then, Natsu had noticed and, like some sort of hero, he had gotten to Gray and made it all feel better. This annoyed Gray because, come on, he could stand on his own but this whole thing had him in a lot on the defenseless side. It wasn’t the first time that he thought about this but the feeling hadn’t changed yet. Rationally there was an explanation and he already knew it (as much of an unknown that it was) but nobody could take from him the feeling that this shouldn’t be happening. And with that he was getting in a foul mood that was calmed when he saw something that caught his interest. This was a little paragraph that didn’t say anything remarkable but something in Gray made him look at it again. Could it be a lead?

The first of (hopefully) many more that would help them?

He read the paragraph again,

_‘The month of irrigadio._

_The land is ready to the cultivation of maize and potato. In the zones of less frost in the morning it is now possible to cultivate wheat, oats, barley and rye._

_The afternoons are still very warm, making the earth dry and stiff. The water isn’t enough to support both us and our agriculture._

_People are starting to go away. They think that our endeavor is in vain, but there’s still a large part of our village that remains strong. We were born in here so we won’t abandon our land that easily._

_Maybe the new moon will bring new hopes and strengths to a village that’s losing all hope._

_The cattle’s health is still good, there were no sick animals since the last entry._

_Maybe the sun will be merciful.’_

The last line was scribbled in a slightly shaky handwriting. Had the writer been shaking? Gray blinked to try to focus his blurry eyesight.

What the hell had been that?

He had just read those lines but his mind had conjured images – maybe it was more appropriate to call it flashes – of places, people, sounds and scents. It had almost been as if the writer had been reciting the happenings. But how was that possible? To react with a sort of déjà vu feeling to the simple writings of-of the _Log of Land – Eleutario edition, volume XIV_? He didn’t even know where that was! And since when did he understand anything about agriculture? This was completely foreign to him but, there was something that kept pulling Gray to the pages of this book. Something was calling him and he had no way to resist it.

He opened the book many pages ahead and his eyes passed distractedly over pages, ending up glued to the last paragraph of his current page.

_‘This month proved to be full of surprises._

_First a catastrophe fell upon us. The thin line of water that was our only source of water ran dry, then half of the cattle fell ill, had to be culled and the meat was considered inappropriate for human consumption. Deprived of that source of food we had to give our last hopes and efforts to the land._

_With very strict measures we cultivated and were able to survive with the minimal food._

_Then came the day that he had a visitor-‘_

_Gray’s eyes opened wide as a gasp caught in his throat._

_He found himself standing in the middle of a street. The hard sun bleached the houses and gave them a light brown color. Looking around Gray was unable to see movement. Nothing moved and there was no sound – this might as well be a deserted village._

_Then there was a loud crash, people yelling and the sound of several feet running. Gray followed the sound but was careful enough not to be seen. He came to a stop in front of a window and didn’t see a reflection. He tried to touch the wall to support himself but his hand failed to touch it. He tried to put his hand on the wall again and saw as his hand just crossed it._

_Several commands on the form of a shout brought Gray from his contemplations. He ran to where the action was. A small crowd was turned to the village’s entrance but Gray couldn’t_ see _what was happening. But that was no problem to him now, right? With a smile he went to the front and stopped._

_In front of those hard-looking farmers a green-haired girl was standing in a defiant pose, arms crossed and one eyebrow cocked. She appeared to be waiting for some kind of answer._

_Gray took the time to look at her. She was of an average height and quite skinny. Her green hair was short but the bangs covered her left eye, the eyes were red and fiery and she was wearing grey shorts, a bright blue top with a vest of a glossy black and the ensemble was finalized with jackboots that were also of a glossy black. Some bandages peeked from under the top and covered her right arm and hand. The soft tinkling snapped Gray’s attention back to her face where a long earring made of a silvery metal, on her right ear, moved with every movement of her head._

_She was not amused, that was for sure._

_She was looking at the crowd with a calculating look, spending a few instants more looking towards the place where Gray was standing (for moments he thought that she was seeing him) before turning and ending her assessment of the crowd. She looked back to the guy that was in front of her._

_“You’re saying that you don’t want my help?” her voice was low and had a slight accent. “In exchange you only have to provide food for me and my partner.”_

_The man – that probably was the village’s chief – shook his head emphatically. “It’s not that we don’t want to – we can’t abide to those conditions at the moment. Don’t you see that my people don’t have anything-?” he cut himself, “We’re out of the maps and forgotten, left here to die under the ruthless sun-“ he stopped when she lifted a hand._

_“Very well…” she let go of a dramatic sigh as she pinched the bridge of her nose. “We’ll start the job without pay until you have the means – but you’ll have to try to support us.”_

_As the chief nodded in approval a large gust of wind rose and a shadow fell over them, seconds later the ground shook with the landing of a huge and majestic green dragon._

_Gray looked up, in awe. So this_ was _a dragon. No wonder that Natsu wanted to find Igneel, these creatures were… Gray didn’t even have the words to define…_

And then he felt Natsu, warm against him, pulling him out of this vision or whatever this was.

With a sharp intake of breath he found himself staring into Natsu’s concerned eyes and the first thing he did was gasp out, “Now I get it…” much to Natsu and Erza’s confusion.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Unbetaed.


	30. Two Books: The Water Dragon

“… And then Natsu was calling me. That’s it.” Gray leaned back on the couch and looked up at the ceiling. He was still trying to absorb what he had seen. Telling his friends hadn’t managed to shake him out of his awe.

Erza got up suddenly and started pacing around the room. Somehow she couldn’t contain her energy. What the hell had happened? It was a very strange – if not a dangerous – thing to happen. How could Gray end up _inside_ of a book? And ‘seeing’ things that supposedly were from a long time ago – as all these kinds of legends were. Because that’s what this was all about – legends. And the kind of thing that could be connected to Natsu. Could it be the bond? This mystical and worrisome thing that now tied and surrounded her two friends…and she hadn’t found anything in the books she had read, anything that could help. Could it be bad luck? But she wanted to help and, so far, hadn’t done a thing.

Maybe the Master could help, maybe he was more knowledgeable on the subject because he had showed them the books, after all. Why did he have to be so far away, helping the Master from Blue Pegasus? Especially at a time in which they needed his guidance.

She paused suddenly. She wouldn’t be of any help if she went down that road – that was for sure. But she was feeling so useless, so helpless… and these were feelings that she hated. No. she had to continue and be optimistic. Yes, that’s what she was going to do and maybe Lucy would be back soon and help them.

Natsu, on the other hand, stood the same. With his arms crossed in front of his torso and his jaw clenched as he took in this new information. There was nothing that he could do, to him that was clear, but he had a different insight of this whole situation than Erza – after all, he had met their so called mentors and had seen the kinds of things they could do.

There was something that bothered him, though. Who was this person, this girl? Could this have some sort of hidden message behind it?

He couldn’t help but smirk when he heard how overwhelmed by the dragon Gray had been. It must’ve been a shock for a person who had never seen one before…

However, all this talk about dragons was starting to get to him and raising some things that for now should – and needed – to remain buried. They would hurt less that way…

His eyes wandered again only to focus on Gray. He was answering some questions that Erza was, half-heartedly, asking. And by his reaction he still hadn’t fully understood what had happened to him. That was no surprise for Natsu, but he was still shocked from the situation. How could it be – how was it possible that he had ‘entered’ that particular tale, log – whatever that was! And the descriptions had been so precise and seemingly accurate that it had painted a reality. Besides, Gray had no reason to make the whole thing up.

No, the mentors definitely had something to do with this. Now if they could only discover what…

And by now Natsu was expecting the worst to happen to Gray if he wasn’t with him.

That was one of the most bizarre things – to think of Gray as someone he should protect…

Yes, Natsu looked at Gray pensively, that was true. He hadn’t noticed before, but now Gray _did_ depend on him for plenty of things. But these last few days had been a hard slap in the face, a rude awakening that left Natsu doing what he was most used to doing – not thinking about it. Shouldn’t he allow himself to stop and dwell on these thoughts, seeing the implications that might come from it?

Natsu stopped and thought seriously about it, then decided against it. Now wasn’t the right time, definitely.

The others were here and there were more pressing matters. Like seeing if that thing could happen again, in the event Gray started to read the book again.

And that was what they were going to find out.

~^~

“This may mean something. I think I’ll continue reading and find out anything else that might seem important,” Gray said, opening the book and flipping through the pages until he was roughly close to the place where he had stopped.

_‘Gray’s eyes opened wide again. He was back in the book._

_The girl was walking towards the dragon, giving the villagers a dismissing wave. She climbed onto the saddle that was on the back of the dragon while she murmured something. She sat there but they didn’t take off, it was almost as if they were waiting for something. Or someone. Then it clicked._

_Gray hurried, passing through people and came to a stop in front of the large wings. He hesitated for a few seconds then climbed up and sat behind the girl._

_Feeling that he could, the dragon took off, startling Gray who threw his arms around the girl’s waist (he failed to notice that he_ could _touch the girl) at the same time that a squeak emerged from his throat. The girl must have felt something because she gave a light-hearted laugh, marveling at the flight as usual._

_“Look, Doro! There’s a good place to land!” she bellowed over the wind. Instants later they had landed and she was setting camp, taking some utilities from the saddle and getting ready to pass the night. “It’s a good thing that we remembered to bring some water. Can you imagine a thing that can possibly be sadder that not having water?” she was rambling while she picked some wood for the fire._

_“Don’t go too far into the woods Menipe, you know how you always get lost. Your sense of direction is really bad and I don’t want to have to go look for you. I’m too tired and the prospect of not having enough food takes away my remaining energy.” The dragon, Doro, grumbled as he lied down._

_The girl gave an offended snort but didn’t go too deep into the forest._

_Night soon settled and Menipe was having dinner. She talked with the dragon about several things but more times than not she looked straight to the spot in front of her, on the other side of the fire – the place where Gray was. He felt a bit uncomfortable. Despite all this, time went on and whether it ran quick or slowly, Gray had no way of knowing._

_The next moment he found himself standing on the back of the dragon – who was flying. He quickly threw himself to where the saddle was. Instants later they started descending towards a large mass of shimmering water._

_“So this is why the water doesn’t flow…” Gray heard Menipe mutter. The dragon was descending, slowly but to the right of the blue where there was what looked like red dirt, a place in the middle of the greenery where it seemed that the land had been eviscerated._

_“It’s even painful to watch.” The dragon’s rumble answered her thoughts. They landed close to the shore of the artificial lake._

_Jumping to the ground Menipe looked at Doro. “I think that I’m going to see that place. We might get some answers.” She dusted some imaginary dirt from her shorts. “You carry on with the plan. I’ll keep in touch.” She turned and started walking to the forest._

_“Be careful…” the dragon rumbled, “By the way, did you put on clean bandages?”_

_She looked at the large dragon, clearly astonished. “Why do you bring that up now?” she scratched the back of her head and shifted her weight from foot to foot, clearly uncomfortable._

_Gray laughed when he saw the reproving glare that the dragon threw at her. It was weird to think that such a massive creature acted like that. But it was pretty funny to see the girl – that was so confident and sure – looking embarrassed._

_The tail gave a couple of condescending pats to the top of her head and she stomped her foot and fumed. The dragon looked at her haughtily and raised an eyebrow. Menipe gave up and turned back on her heels. “Don’t look at me like that, okay? Now we have a job to do…”_

_“Very well. Be careful and if you need something, you know what to do.” Doro said, looking at her with concern as she entered the woods._

_“Don’t worry that I will.” Gray was walking beside her so he heard her muttering her answer._

_The walk through the forest was strange, because every time she became confused and almost walked the wrong way, she would stop and follow Gray – who was certain he was heading to the right place. How could she sense him? He couldn’t help but wonder._

_Finally, they arrived at what looked like a mine, with men in constant movement, entering and exiting that space. In the shadows of the trees that were on the trail that supposedly led to the lake, a strange pavilion was set, where two well-dressed men were sitting around a table and sipping cold drinks._

_“Hm, who would’ve guessed that the bosses were here today…” Gray looked at her as she said these words, then back around the area. There were several men with long polished black bats that were walking around in designed patterns. Oh crap, they were patrolling the area and she was distracted. She was stealthy but so were they, as it was proved when two of them came from behind and grabbed her. Gray felt completely helpless as he saw her struggle as the men dragged her to the ‘clearing’. He had no other choice but to follow._

_“Well, well, well. What do we have here…” the pudgier of the well-dressed men said._

_“Oh, please. We shall not waste time with that little spy. Just put her with the rest and give her the same treatment. In a couple of days we’ll know everything we need.” The taller guy with a thin moustache commented with disdain. “Not that they know anything interesting. They never do…” he waved in dismissal and went to sit on a chair._

_A muscular guy with an eye patch on his right eye and a body covered in scars got her by the back of her neck and pushed her towards the mine._

_They entered one of the first galleries and walked in the relative darkness. At the end there were seven men, in poor condition, shackled to the wall. Their eyes looked up and she could see how they were empty. She was roughly pushed against the wall, two meters away from the rest, and her hands were shackled in a chain that didn’t let her stretch her arms, while they took off her boots and locked her feet together. When the man finished his job he pulled her by the hair (she was standing painfully), looked at her daring eyes and laughed in her face, letting his rancid breath hit her and almost make her gag. Then he let go of her hair, spat in her face and kicked her in the stomach. As she lay on the floor in an uncomfortable position, trying to regain her breath, the man’s mocking laughter echoed through the gallery._

_Slowly she managed to sit up and looked upset when she took in the resigned looks of those men._

_Gray sat by her side. This was a terrible thing to do but he wasn’t allowed anything else. Here he was only a spectator – besides, he couldn’t be of much use right now, unable to use his magic and all…_

_Another time leap went by and Gray found himself with Menipe in what looked like an interrogation room. She was sitting in a chair that had what looked like side-tables, where her wrists were bound. There was also a metal collar around her neck and was supported by two bars that came from the chair’s seat. Two men dressed in black robes were walking around her, like vultures, and she had her mouth shut in a thin line. Her gaze was locked forward and she was doing all she could not to crack under the pressure._

_The bandages on her right arm had been ripped off and now lay on the side-table with a yellowish color. Gray stifled a gasp when he saw the state in which her arm was. Scars crisscrossed the bruised skin and she had a long cut that ran from the shoulder to around half of the inside of her arm. Blood oozed slightly but started to run freely when one of the men plunged what looked like a forceps into the wound and started spreading the flesh. Screams threatened to escape her lips and only managed to go half-choked, while she closed her eyes hard and tried to lower her head – but the collar stopped her. Sweat was running profusely down her forehead, neck and back._

_It was hard – too hard._

_She bit her lower lip and more blood flowed when she teared the skin. When her lips parted again it was only to whimper a “_ Yamalin _”._

_Not one minute later the whole cave shook and panicked yells were heard. A stumpy man stepped into the room, in panic, and said that Tenaro was calling for them._

_The cloaked men exchanged a look and seemed to momentarily pout but shrugged and one accompanied the man while the other took the forceps away and tended minimally to the wounds, after all they still had a lot to play with this doll, their newest toy… He released her from the collar and bindings and saw her fall to the ground, almost unconscious. Hearing a moan of pain, he grabbed her right arm and walked out of the room, dragging her. When they reached what Menipe and Gray by now called The Pit, the man locked her in place and headed to where the mess was._

_Gray kneeled beside her and tried to help her getting into a better position – it was all he could do. He heard her whisper, “Thank you Doro,_ saliren actum hisodyta _.” When she finished saying these words her skin took a rosier tone and the blood from the wounds seemed to diminish._

_‘Wow!’ Gray blinked and stared in wonder. This had to be a bond, their bond. So this meant that the bond had healing properties between the partners? That was good to know but – for real? This looked too surreal to be true…_

_Then, the black cloaked men were there, taking her back to the interrogation room, putting her in her previous position._

_“So, are you going to answer our questions?” one of them was holding a scalpel and twirling it lazily while the other held a thing that strangely looked like a pin cushion._

_“Sure, I’ll answer to your questions if you answer mine,” she didn’t try to mask the venom in her voice._

_“You think you’re so funny…” the holder of the pin cushion held her cheeks and squeezed, long nails piercing the skin, then slapped her on the pierced cheek – hard. “We’ll see if you still find it funny in a while.”_

_The man holding the scalpel was standing behind her, the sharp metal dancing over the skin of her neck, making small cuts here and there. Suddenly the sound of fabric being ripped was heard. The scalpel had cut a straight line down her back, along with her clothes and bandages. The skin of her back also had bruising and scars, but one more thing. There were burns, the largest being about the size of a fist and was on the left side of her lower back._

_“Now, this is unfair. If the back is bare so should the front.” He walked to her front and gave a pull. The whole body jerked to the front as much as it could but the clothes didn’t move. With a patronizing roll of the eyes, the other grabbed a razor and cut the pieces on the shoulders. The fabric fell to the girl’s lap and she didn’t quite like the insane glimmer that she saw in the other’s eyes._

_Meanwhile, Gray, who had been standing in front of her quickly averted his eyes from Menipe and went to stand towards her back. He shook his head and tried to disperse the blush from his face and the image of those small, perk breasts from his mind. He was a guy and didn’t mind – at all – seeing a naked girl but this whole situation was just wrong. He snapped out of his monologue when he heard one of the men say._

_“I know! Since we’re playing we could put a couple of turmaquesas on her arm. Don’t you think that it would be pretty? And then we could start a new trend because who doesn’t want to wear, no, to be a precious stone?” he was babbling excitedly._

_“Don’t you start with your nonsensical ideas. The recovery would be very hard for the ordinary, I mean, for the noble class people. And there aren’t that many turmaquesas. The boss found here an aurumnus mine. Now he only needs to get rid of that petty little village.” He looked pointedly at his friend._

_‘So that’s the reason.’ Gray looked up, ‘All this because of the greed of one man for purple-blue rocks?’ he saw Menipe tremble when the man in front of her resumed his scalpel-wandering mission._

_“Oh, oh, oh. Do you think that I perfected that technique from the other day?” the point of the scalpel stopped, touching the tip of one nipple. “Can I try it?” he waited for the other’s answer but the metal now had a little bit of pressure, being uncomfortable and almost to the point of breaking skin. “She isn’t like the others, she’s tough so, can we play?” he asked in a slightly childish voice._

_Gray wondered how they could jump from sadistic to petulant so easily._

_Menipe almost didn’t breathe, trying not to disturb the tip._

_“No. That technique isn’t good yet. But we can play a bit with these burns.” The other answered pensively. “However I don’t see why you can’t try it in the corpses from the attack. The damned creature killed almost a half of the thugs.” He had bent to grab what looked like a measure – the exception was that at the tip, instead of coal there was a blade. “For now, how do you feel if we take care of her back?”_

_“The back? You know that I’m a breasts man, right?”_

_“Fine, so you can play with her arm.”_

_Their instruments descended at the same time and now a scream tore from her lips._

_At that precise moment the ceiling started to tremble and collapse. Both men let go of their captive and jumped back so that they were with their backs to the walls. When the little room kept trembling, they ran for it – not wanting to be buried._

_Large chunks of rock went through Gray as he held onto Menipe and tried to release her._

_A strong jet of water entered the room and made the dust in the air settle down. Gray was worried that the force of the water would hit Menipe but was surprised to see that she had what looked like a cape of water between her and the jet. Then the incoming water lost its destructive force and surrounded her, merging with the protective water. A whirlpool surrounded her and some strings extended towards her skin, healing the wounds._

_Gray saw this, once again, astounded._

_The jet of water stopped soon and the girl shook her short hair that by now had a darker shade as it was completely soaked. She struggled with her bindings but was able to get her shackles away from the tables. Picking a small wire from the ground she opened her shackles and Gray could hear her say. “I knew that some day I would need my lock picking skill.” She got up and looked at the tatters of her clothes with dismay. Looking around the room she saw a dirty orange overall. Well it was the best that she could do for now. In no time she was running to the main gallery, some men standing in her way but she knocked them out quickly._

_Running towards the Pit she stopped at the entrance and looked to the water that was already ankle-high. She tapped on the rock in a strange rhythm first on the left side then on the right, doing a weird gesture with her left hand. A transparent wall of water rose and shifted around, connected to her left hand. At her muttered “_ Encarcero _” the water stopped, almost as if it had frozen but without being literally so. Gray touched it and the water rippled._

_What the hell was this? Incantations or spells of some sort? This confused Gray but he had to push it to the back of his mind and hope to think about it later. Now he had to be with the other, running to where the action was._

_Most of the bandits were outside, having a hard time trying to fight the dragon and when Menipe attacked from the inside they split their attention and became weaker. In the end it didn’t take long until all the bandits had been subdued. She was just finishing tying the last bandits in the line when a loud noise came from the woods. Looking up she saw the village chief and some of the braver men entering the carved clearing._

_“Good to see you here. Please, could you keep an eye on these while I take some of your men with me to release the prisoners?” she started walking towards the mine’s entrance, stopping to pat one of Doro’s paws. She led a small group of men with her. All of them looked in wonder at the watery barrier. At her command, “_ Libero _”, the wall broke and the water, that by then was mid-thigh, rushed in. The men helped their friends (she opened the locks) and soon after they were outside, under the sun and the gentle breeze’s soft caress._

_Menipe was leaning against Doro’s side and speaking to the chief. “There are at least two men missing. I know for sure that the interrogators aren’t here and neither are the bosses. The good news is that you have a very rich mine. From what I heard, they were extracting turmaquesas from here. You know, those precious stones that are now very trendy among the high classes?” at the man’s baffled stare she just shrugged and continued. “They are bluish-purple stones. I suppose that’s the reason why they wanted you out of here, so that they could exploit this easily without worries.” She sighed and let her head rest on the dragon’s side. “Men will never cease to surprise me with their stupidity.” She looked back at the chief. “We’ll help you now with the water and you’ll know of the wealth that lies in the mountain, but I warn you to be careful. Take care of Nature and try to always keep the balance between what you take and what you give in return. Never forget that balance is the most important thing.” She got up and stretched, patting the chief on the shoulder while she headed to the side of the dam._

_“This was more finely made than I thought.” Menipe punched the tightly weaved material. “I guess we’ll need to take this out with a bang. What do you think?” she looked up at Doro._

_“This was, indeed, made by a professional. Maybe we can control the flux with the ‘_ Elig Omilzoran _’.”_

_“Hmm. You’re right.” She went to the side at the bottom of the structure and prepared to run to the other side of the dam, one hand already glistening with moisture. Doro was up in the sky, commanding the water that started to rumble and rose to the sky, tightly controlled. Gray was in what could be considered the shore, with some of the village men, observing.  Gray watched, enraptured by the grandeur of what he was seeing. This was water magic of a very high level._

_He heard Menipe say something before running the whole length of the dam and, apparently, cracking it open. She turned when she got to the end and after a series of quick gestures she started channeling the water, letting it flow down the mountain in a controlled manner. This took a lot of time but the next thing Gray knew, it was night and they were back at the village, around a large bonfire by the now flowing river, with music, food and laughter running around. It was a party._

_“We have no way to repay you.” The chief said, holding his wife’s hand._

_“You don’t need to. You just do what we discussed before and treat Nature with the respect that she deserves.” Menipe ate one slightly dry gasseig. She looked to the side at Doro and saw that he was surrounded by children who were laughing and overall playing with the dragon. ‘Let him rest. This took a heavy toll on him.’ She took a sip from her cup and looked towards Gray._

_“I don’t know if this is just an impression or not but, whatever you are, never forget to look after your partner.” her eye shone strangely and then she turned back to the party._

_Gray sat back and mulled over these cryptic words.’_

Finding himself in his living room again, Gray read the last line of this large entry.

_‘The blessed arrival of the girl with the dragon saved the village, by allowing us to remain here and even gave us another way to live – always with the utmost respect for Nature, of course._

_For now the village is slowly regaining strength and returning to normal, but for now we’ll avoid using the hidden wealth and protect its existence. The land is rich enough for us.’_

Gray blinked and looked up. Took a deep breath and could only think one thing.

‘Wow!’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Betaed by Shiny Pichu-Chan. :3


	31. Two Books: The Earth and Wood Dragons

Seeing Gray getting absorbed into his book once again – and into whatever crazy thing it implied – Natsu looked at the pile of books in front of him. Maybe he should do the same. Maybe their mentors (it was still a strange thing to think of) wanted that he also experienced something like that.

He looked at Erza, who was also trying her hardest, marks of worry etched into her features. Natsu suppressed a sigh.

Without noticing, his eyes turned back to Gray. It was a bit weird, seeing how his eyes were open and moving slowly across the pages but there was a sort of blankness in them…

He caught himself and stared at the coffee table. There’s the same pile of dusty volumes but, something compelled him to pick one that had a dark brown cover and the title was _Log of the Land – Eufrosina edition, volume XI_.

Sparing another glance at Gray, he noticed that the books were similar, so that could mean something.

He tried to shake some of the dust but it was so deeply ingrained that he didn’t do anything. Finally he decided to open the book. He started leafing through it, but nothing caught his attention, and, okay, he was pretty distracted. This had to be one of the worst ideas and-

Natsu stopped and returned to an entry that now seemed to be highlighted.

_‘In the honor and responsibility will forever be engraved in our minds._

_We know that danger lies in the future but we are the best and will do our most to preserve and protect the secrets from outside harm. Our bond to the dragon is also a precious asset._

_So, when the elder brought us here-‘_

Natsu felt the world around him twirl and he instinctively closed his eyes as a faint sense of nausea started taking over him. He felt himself fall to the floor and gasp for breath. This wasn’t happening. He was in Gray’s house, not on a train or something of the sort. Why was he feeling this way?

_‘Then, as sudden as it began, the world stopped and Natsu felt better. He opened his eyes and got to his knees._

_Hmm, how did he get into this place? That, he could see now, was the entrance to a luscious_ _and old forest._

_Three figures were standing at what looked like the entrance. And suddenly, he was standing in the shadow, that made him look up, one hand covering his eyes from the sun. In the sky two large dark figures were flying._

_‘Dragons…’ he thought, half-surprised. Even just by seeing them up in the sky he could sense the warm feeling spread inside. Even if on the other side sadness was growing. It wasn’t possible that one of them was Igneel, right? What he wouldn’t give to see Igneel again, to talk to his father one more time…_

_Around him, time seemed to slow down, the wind came to a stop and the figures’ movements were so slow that they were nearly still. Natsu blinked and things returned to normal._

_Cautiously he decided to approach the three individuals, who where in what looked like a solemn moment._

_He stood beside a tree, the large bark hiding him. Now he could assess the situation better. There were two men standing and in front of them a young woman. He could clearly have a better look so he noticed that both men were tall but the leaner one was a bit taller than the more muscled one._

_They were both wearing a light brown cape and – from where Natsu could see – dark brown pants and boots. The taller guy had his dark blond hair tied in a loose ponytail and the hair went roughly to his shoulder length. The bulkier guy had his black hair short, some locks defying gravity. They were standing to attention of the woman. She barely reached their shoulders but it was easy to see that she detained the power in there. She was wearing a purple gown that adjusted to her body and accentuated her curves. She had see-through sleeves of a lighter purple and a small veil around her shoulders moved gently with the wind. Her silvery hair was tied up so that it fell in defined curls and a head-piece that sported a purple stone was glinting in her forehead. She had piercing green eyes, Natsu almost felt a shiver when she glanced towards him._

_Turning back to the two men she said something in a low voice. Natsu saw how the men kneeled and bowed their heads, a faint green glow surrounding them. The glow darkened in such a way that it covered them completely until it was consumed by a brown color that emanated from the guys. The faint brown dimmed until they stopped glowing._

_The female placed a hand in their shoulders and signaled them to get up. When they do so, she covered one of each man’s hands with both of hers, when she lets go a small green sphere was shining in their palms. She took a step back and stopped for a moment to contemplate there young men, who have now a task to fulfill – and a heavy one, at that. For mere seconds her eyes fill with sadness – especially when she looks at the taller guy – but she quickly returns to her solemn demeanor._

_“With this, I shall go. Your other gifts are in the house that you’ll now inhabit. I wish you good luck and the strength to always find the right path.” She brought two fingers to her lips and let her hand fall back on her side. “If you need us, you know how to call for us.” She did a little curtsey and walked back to the protection of the forest, the shades covering her until, when a small breeze lifted some leaves, she was gone._

_The two men watched as she disappeared and then turned at each other, grinning widely. They stared at each other, just about to crack up and laugh but wanted the other to be the first. Well, they couldn’t hold it for long and in no time laughter was echoing through the forest. They clapped hard on each other’s backs as they walked down that trek while, in the sky, the dragons kept flying._

_~^~_

_The next thing Natsu knew, they had arrived to a small clearing._

_There was something strange about it, a different feel of some sort. Like as if a tingle had washed over them at their arrival._

_Which was weird since they weren’t that much into the forest. Could it be a magical one? That made Natsu wonder. But he didn’t know of a forest that was under magic of any sort…_

_Shrugging, Natsu followed the two beaming guys who had stopped in front of two large trees that stood entwined and in some places it appeared to be fused together. At their twin bottom, passing unnoticed, there was a door._

_“What do you think, Tereu?” the taller one asked, “Do you think that’s an invitation?”_

_Flashing a quick smile, the bulkier one took a step ahead and placed his hand on the wood, “Invitation or not, we’re now the owners of this place. You should know better Melicertes. Now, let’s go and see this place!” he pushed the door open, and quickly walked into the small shadowed hall._

_The taller guy, Melicertes, quickly joined him and Natsu hurried after them. He wasn’t about to be left out._

_Blinking his eyes, Natsu was able to see that the hall led to three large stairwells._

_The men shifted a little uncertainly in the twilight until they noticed that there was something that was bringing light to the hall. Looking down at their hands, they could see that the spheres were glowing. And pulling each of them to a different place. Melicertes was being pushed into the stairwell on the left and Tereu to the one on the right._

_With a nod at each other, they started climbing the stairs, the small light showing the way._

_Looking at both sides, Natsu paused. Then he decided to go to the right._

_They climbed a large flight of stairs (more than fifty? Phew) until they got to the first landing. In it thee were two closed doors. Natsu looked at them briefly and wondered about what might be behind but as the other kept walking to the following flight of stairs he couldn’t do other thing but follow._

_There were less stairs in the following flight but they were still a lot. They kept climbing this way for at least six more levels that were similar to the first one, only that the number of doors varied. And in any of these levels did Tereu stop to see what was on the inside – though Natsu could see that he was itching with curiosity. No, they stoically climbed until they were in front of a large crafted door._

_The sphere shone at its brightest once before it dimmed until they were plunged in darkness once again._

_The man extended his hand towards the door, brushed it briefly and it opened by itself. He entered the room._

_Natsu was about to follow but something was blocking his way. After a couple of failed attempts, he imitated the gestures of the other and the blockage vanished. Whatever this was, this magic was protecting it, he concluded._

_And the magic was really strong if it even worked against him._

_Inside, the room was opulent. The furniture was really expensive-looking and two of the walls were covered with large shelves that were filled with books._

_A heavy desk was standing in front of a door that pointed to a balcony. When that door was opened Natsu saw that it was well hidden amidst the trees foliage, and that right at this point the landscape was breathtaking._

_Returning to the room they noticed that to the right of the balcony’s door there was another. They heard a loud rumble that was closely followed by a crash._

_Tereu hurried to the door, opened it in such a haste that it almost made a dent on the wall. Natsu was following him and they met yet another flight of stairs (thankfully this one only had ten) that led them to a room that – amazingly – was covered in stone. Now that was a change from the heavy wooden-theme that they had seen so far…_

_Tereu walked in large strides until he was in front of the dragon._

_Natsu gulped._

_It had been such a long, long time since he had seen a dragon up close. Since he had seen Igneel… and of course that this brown dragon was different from Igneel. Wasn’t Igneel. But even so, a lump grew on Natsu’s throat and he had to turn back and hurry down the stairs, towards the room._

_Behind he could hear Tereu admonishing and lecturing his dragon._

_He returned to the room and leaned against the wall. This wasn’t a shock, no, it wasn’t. Because he said so and that was final._

_While he was battling with himself he heard the other return to the room. Natsu ran a hand through his hair before he stood straight._

_Tereu had a pensive look as he walked towards the desk. He noticed that to its left there was a small side table with a green pillow. He didn’t think twice and placed the sphere in it. Then he turned to explore the remaining doors of the room._

_First, he discovered the bathroom that was filled with luxurious products, the floor in a shiny light brown marble, the wall tiles in another hue of brown but they were mixing with different kinds of green, almost as if one was surrounded by trees. It felt strange, almost as if one was outside but protected… The toilet, bathtub and washbasin were in green marble and the remaining cabinets were in light wood._

_Then Tereu found the door that led to a walk-in closet, that was already filled with clothes and other utilities such as pieces of armor._

_Tereu jumped to the bed to see how it was and for some minutes, rested in it, his hands behind his head as he let out a pleased sigh. He closed his eyes and lay, calmly, until the sphere started glowing again._

_He had to get going again._

_He found that the last door led to a hidden corridor that also had another flight of stairs. When the other started climbing them, Natsu couldn’t help the growl of irritation that escaped. This was just ridiculous!_

_He stopped beside the other, in front of two heavy wooden doors._

_Tereu pushed them open and they found themselves in a huge room. Melicertes was there already, his back turned at them._

_If the other room could be considered opulent, this one could certainly be considered doubly opulent._

_It would appear that the other room was most likely Tereu’s private apartments and this one was the place where they both would be working, doing the honorable work – the protection of the South border and the secrets. Here they were to study and work hard on solving any problem or trouble that might arise._

_“This is our domain!” Tereu exclaimed._

_Melicertes turned back. His face was serious, solemn even, but his eyes were shining with a proud fire. “We shall do our best.”_

_Tereu stood in the middle of the room, where a beam of light was lighting. He motioned for the other to come close to him, in that circle of light. Natsu also decided to get close._

_As they shook hands, they said at the same time, “We will succeed in our task.” Their large grins quickly evolved into laughs._

_Natsu turned back. He had heard a strange rumble in the distance. Somehow, he had a bad feeling about this._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Betaed by Shiny Pichu-Chan. :3


	32. The Two Books: Consequences

_Next, Natsu accompanied them in what looked like their new functions._

_He was, once again, in that massive room but some time had passed. The light was different and both guys were sitting at their desks. Large piles of books sprouted from the tabletops and loomed over them. Both men were leaning on their desks, over scattered papers, frowns marring their faces. Apparently things weren’t going as smoothly as they had envisioned._

_“Argh! This is nothing like how I had imagined it!” Tereu punched the table, making some of the sheets flutter to the floor. He cradled his head in his hands and mumbled something as he shook it._

_Melicertes sighed and placed down his own papers, he looked up at Tereu. “What did you say?”_

_Tereu mumbled something in reply._

_“You’ll have to clear that up, I still don’t get it,” Melicertes massaged his temples gently._

_“I_ said _that I had never imagined that there would be this much bureaucratic work. At least in the first week. They might lay off of us for a bit, let us get to know the places, the people – the job. They’re just insane with all these forms that will never be read,” he pushed his chair back and started pacing, “We could be exploring. See, for real, what’s happening to the people and help them on the spot. But no, what are we doing here, behind our desks? Looking at scribbled, meaningless pages. It will take too long…” Melicertes cleaned his throat and that made him pause._

_“I understand how you feel but you know the rules. There is a protocol and we’ll follow it to help the people, orderly,” he also got up, and went to the window. “Did you go out with Ligure today? You seem exceptionally restless and the fact that you need to be behind that desk working isn’t helping matters.”_

_Natsu went to the closest desk and peered at the papers. The white sheets were scribbled in a strange language but his mouth fell open when he noticed that the symbols had started contorting until they turned into a familiar language. How was it possible that he could read this now? Blinking, he leaned over to take a closer look. It seemed to be a report of some sort about a southern area. As it was, they were having trouble with a bunch of groups that were attacking the place for – Natsu didn’t have time to read it to the end because the men were coming to the table and he still didn’t know what effect he could have in them._

_“I’ll tell you this, how about we go to Tisameno and see what’s causing the trouble and help them? They asked for help by the right means and I took care of things. All we have to do now is go there.”_

_Tereu threw his head back and laughed._

_“You know me too well, my friend,” he clapped his hand on the other’s lean shoulder. “Let’s go then,” and they both hurried out the door. Their sober cloaks flapping behind them._

_Natsu wasn’t going to miss the action so he went after them, out the door and into the darkness._

_~^~_

_A sharp, salty wind hit him like a slap to the face. This was completely different from the cozy and comforting atmosphere of the room from earlier. Now the cold note of the wilderness and salty strength of the sea hit him and tried to impose their will. Natsu was a little taken aback._

_The sky looked grey and there was a high possibility of rain and the large battlement that rose against the sky gave a somber feeling to the place. There was also the loud roaring of the waves that crashed upon the rocks. Natsu looked to his left and, as expected, the waves crashed loudly and spreading the white foam on the black rocks._

_Tereu and Melicertes had changed clothes, now their attire was simple and in dull colors – they seemed to want to be in the same wavelength as the man that was receiving them, while some villagers and soldiers (also in dull colors) stood behind, watching and waiting._

_They were herded to a small room and had to sit at the sturdy table. The leader (because that must be what this man was) sat on his chair and grabbed the armrests tightly._

_“Our situation’s unbearable. We’re almost to the point of collapse,” he looked seriously – almost desperately – at both men._

_In return, Melicertes and Tereu nodded gravely._

_“You can count on us.”_

_“We’ll take care of this situation.”_

_What sounded like a relieved exhale filled the room and the air lifted a bit. He hardened warriors and men were starting to relax, seeing that their troubles would come to an end._

_Tereu and Melicertes left the room and headed outside, to where their dragons were, and to where people kept looking in awe._

_“When do we start?” asked Istmico. He seemed to be eager for some action._

_Tereu came to a stop and looked up, an amused smile on his lips. “That’s… unusual… we’re used to Ligure whining about that kind of things. What’s happening?”_

_“Nothing, nothing. So, what do we do?” the dragon asked, in an abrupt change of conversation._

_“Right now we can only survey the area, see the typography and plan what we might do in case of attack,” Melicertes stated calmly._

_Natsu could see the logic in that so he took a couple of steps and was about to climb into one of the dragons (right now it didn’t matter which) only to stop in the middle of an ill-lit room._

_Shadows engulfed the spartan room and only the merrily crackling fireplace cast some light into it._

_Melicertes was sitting at the end of the bed, his elbows resting on his knees and his hands clasped in front of him. He looked dead serious and the light that came from the flickering flames only enhanced the shadows that fluttered over his face. On the other bed, Tereu was lying down, hands behind his head as he looked distractedly at the dance of shadows on the ceiling._

_“It wasn’t that bad…” he tried, only to be met by a disbelieving snort._

_“Are you kidding?” Melicertes got up, “Are you fucking kidding?” he almost bellowed as he paced (one might call it stomp) in front of the fireplace. “That thing was a mess. There’s just no-ugh!” he ran his hands through his face and threw them up in exasperation. “How do they want us to do something with – gods! They’re so stupid!”_

_Tereu sat up and crossed his legs, his elbows coming to rest on his knees as he leaned forward. “Don’t say that. They just don’t know… they don’t know everything,” he shook his head and turned, his feet hitting the floor. “But it’s highly unusual for you to get like that. Come on, spill it.”_

_Melicerted didn’t reply, just continued pacing as he fumed in silence._

_“Melicertes, you better tell me what’s bothering you. Just to get over it, okay?” he tried to cajole the other._

_Natsu, who had conspicuously sat on the vacated bed, watched as these two interacted. It was interesting to see how these opposite yet complementing personalities had seemingly switched. And also, his main concern that kept gnawing at the back of his head, where were the dragons? Sure, they were here with a palpable tension oozing from the men but who was tending to the dragons? And other thoughts of the sort couldn’t help but run through his mind._

_“You know what it is? We don’t have enough power. If we could just shift the… Nah, forget it,” he watched as Tereu got up from the bed and headed to the mantelpiece – cutting his route._

_“What do you mean with that, power? You do know that we climbed largely on the scale and hold a lot of power. It is enough for is to solve this mess,” he was shaking his head._

_“But I’m not talking about anything worrying or dangerous. It could be considered just like a tiny upgrade to what we have. I’ve read about this and even if there aren’t many cases, it works,” the leaner one said._

_“I don’t know, Melicertes. It could be just too dangerous…”_

_“Look who’s got all careful now, mister Hothead…” he counteracted._

_“I know what you’re doing but you’re not going to goad me into this,” Tereu lifted his hands dismissively._

_“Alright, you don’t trust me enough-“ he was interrupted by a spluttered ‘I_ do _trust you!’ but kept on, “-so I’m calling in that favor you owe me. From that time, you know…” he wriggled his eyebrows._

_“You have no reason to bring that up now!” Tereu was outraged._

_“You say you trust me but your actions say otherwise…” said the taller one in a low voice._

_“But the Elders… they won’t like it…”_

_“They won’t know. And the difference will be minimal. It won’t harm anyone. You’ll do this by your honor – and your trust in me.”_

_With a sigh, Tereu agreed._

_~^~_

_Natsu’s knees impacted on the grassy ground. He let out a curse as he got up._

_They were by a crystalline lake that was reflecting the cloudy sky and the brightness that came from the parts of the moon that weren’t covered and the beams that filtered through the clouds. A gentle breeze made the leaves rustle and gave a lively feeling to the overall still landscape. Natsu didn’t take long to join the men where they stood, by the lake’s shore; a metallic dish resting at their feet._

_“Okay, now we only need the last bit,” Melicertes took a small knife from his pocket and toyed with it, merrily. “Are you ready?”_

_“I am, let’s just do it.”_

_Melicertes opened his left hand between them and above the dish and, decidedly, sliced it. Blood immediately started flowing and dripping into the bowl. He presented the hilt to Tereu, who proceeded in the same way. Once there was a good measure of blood on the dish they clasped their hands, the blood flowing together. They remained in their positions, looking at each other’s eyes. Strangely, they weren’t affected by their surroundings, they didn’t hear the call of the nocturnal wildlife or felt the chill brought by the mist that had started to rise. Moments later, blood didn’t run anymore._

_“It is done, now we share the same blood and the power will increase.”_

_“May the gods help us.”_

_A puzzled Natsu watched this odd interaction._

_When he looked down at the dish, the red fluid was swirling magically._

_~^~_

_The harsh wind hit Natsu’s face, so cold that it seemed to be attempting to rip his skin off. After a small pause, a new gust of wind made him want a coat (and that was impossible because he wasn’t_ cold _with just a little wind)._

_They were on the wall that led to the sea, where the fortification surveyed the promontory._

_“Alright, so they’ll get here in no time. We’ll split up and take care of the bigger part. You’ll have to deal with the ones that manage to get to the village. If you follow the plan this matter will be over!” Melicertes was talking to a bunch of weather-roughened men and the leader while Tereu was talking to some… artisans?... about a strange contraption that had been embedded to the wall._

_“Okay men, it’s time to go! May Faetonte look for us and help us avoid any mistake,” Melicertes signaled at Tereu and together (with Natsu trailing behind) they left the busy area and went for their dragons. With a nod, it didn’t take long until they were in the sky._

_And Natsu was down there, looking at the immense bodies as they grew smaller._

_Damn! He had just hesitated for a second because – oh, there they were – they were going separate ways._

_Now what?_

_~^~_

_Strong muscles shifted under his palm and Natsu found himself sitting behind Melicertes on Istmico’s back. They were flying towards the small strip of forest that was to the North of the village. The air was a bit different here, with the unique scent of the trees but where a salty tang of sea remained. Natsu saw the other breathe in and let out a contented sigh._

_“Look, Istmico. I was right. They also plan to launch an attack from here. It’s time for us to begin, don’t you think?”_

_The dragon laughed, a deep rumble coming from him and startling some birds that were flying nearby. “It sure is. Are you ready?” the brown dragon folded his winds and they fell towards the treetops. The lines of men that had been so organized instants before fell apart and men scattered through the forest. But that didn’t worry them as branches and vines quickly got a hold of them. Besides, at the moment they had more to worry about – with what looked like a squadron – attacking them._

_Different sorts of magic were shot in every direction but they were somewhat protected by their height and the dome of wood that had risen to stand between them. It didn’t hold much against the stronger sorts so when a violet spear-like object crossed the barrier only Istmico’s quick action managed to save them as he spit his… fire?... The impromptu ball so big that it razed a large number of people bellow._

_“Oops… You really need to be more careful,” Melicertes admonished distractedly. It was noticeable that he wasn’t all that sorry for the people bellow. In fact, he seemed oddly pleased._

_Under, the bodies of the enemies were gone but the trees had remained unaffected._

_“Oh, look, there’s still one down there,” he made Istmico land and slid to the ground._

_“You’re a cold-blooded assassin! How could you?” the young man that was covered by red splatter yelled at him. “You couldn’t do this…” he stated, in shock._

_“You’re too young to notice this but you’re a foreigner here, you were invading this territory – my territory – and despite the formal demands – that you dismissed – we had all the right to react this way,” he eyed him calmly, he knew that despite the young age, this fellow was quite strong._

_“You really don’t see the point…” green vines curled around the young man and unexpectedly shot towards Melicertes._

_“_ Inho weya _,” muttered Melicertes and a large bark rose in front of him. With a snap of his fingers large splinters shot towards the younger man but he was protected and threw a sneaky counter-attack. This went on for a while and only when the earth trembled (and a roar sounded in the distance too) did Melicertes beat his opponent. As his enemy fell to the ground in a heap, the wood mage wobbled towards his friend and let himself fall against his flank. He was exultant._

_“Did you see that? It was… that was awesome!” he couldn’t stop babbling in a very out of character way._

_“You were right. It was good… But we did go a bit over the top in here – we’re going to get in trouble…”_

_“Nah, you know how Tereu is. If we did this, he’ll do much worse… And how is the_ Vitium Arter _? Damaged, good?” he leaned back and placed his hands behind his head._

_“Well, I did a cursory search and, so far, everything’s alright but you know that the second part still has to take place…”_

_“Yeah, yeah… We’ll work on that in a minute…”_

_~^~_

_Natsu fell over Ligure’s tail, getting a face full of soil. He cursed his mentors for throwing him around without warning and as they pleased. And he was still trying to make some sense from that previous conversation._

_What the hell was going on?_

_He looked around and noticed that he was, with Ligure and Tereu, on top of the cliff that was to the right of the defensive wall. From here one could easily survey the small fisherman’s village. The usually turbulent waters were calm but everything was too calm._

_This was clearly the calm before the storm._

_Then the ships, that were draped in black, appeared and with them a looming feeling._

_This thing started now._

_“It’s our turn, my friend,” Tereu patted the dirt from his pants as he stood up and climbed into Ligure’s back. “Let’s finish this once and for all…”_

_Natsu had climbed too and felt, once again, that exhilarating feeling of flying on a dragon._

_They were above the ships (that were bustling in feverish movement) and it didn’t take long until they were being attacked. Flaming arrows and twirling metal balls headed their way but as they were slightly out of their comfort zone – and also for Ligure to maintain his strength – Tereu resorted to a muttered, “_ Somva ostum _,” and watched the brown mist that formed under them take the attacks._

_They had to lead them towards the shore…_

_Or maybe Tereu could try something new… It might be crazy or dangerous and could make a lot of embarkations sink (that wasn’t exactly the point) and their task would be much easier._

_Suddenly Ligure dropped and was plunging towards the water at an astounding speed and only by the minimal tangent they didn’t enter that water. But their purpose was met, Tereu was raising his hands, extremely focused, while he mumbled something and sweated buckets._

_As they flew back up, he finally exhaled while he dried the sweat out of his face. “Whew, that was a close one. Thankfully there aren’t magic users in these ships or things would’ve been a little bit harder…”_

_“You sound disappointed,” rumbled the dark brown dragon, “and look – all the ships are in perfect condition. So out of character for you, who usually would’ve blasted them apart. Are you feeling well?” the dragon teased._

_Tereu bristled. “Sh-shut up! You’re really horrible at making jokes. Leave that to the professionals, tche!”_

_“You were asking for that, just-“ he stopped and dived a little, “Look, seems that we’re going to have more troubles with these ones.”_

_“Apparently lifting sand to stop them wasn’t enough. Let’s go!” and when they got closer a strange thing happened. Bits and pieces of the boats started crumbling and the crews backed into the small space that remained ‘safe’._

_“They won’t go anywhere now…” Tereu let out a hearty laugh but stopped and frowned. ‘How did this happen?’ as they flew to the small village and saw fishing boats head to the now battered ships._

_~^~_

_On the small fishing village chaos ruled._

_There were people fighting everywhere, the men in black tunics that had managed to enter the village seemed to have the upper hand until the moment when the ground shook._

_Everything stopped._

_And then they were all led to the central square that was framed with decrepit wooden houses, where both groups looked suspiciously at the other and over a couple of dead bodies._

_Two men, dressing in good quality tunics marched as if they owned the place and with serious faces._

_They stopped in front of the small pillory that supposedly marked the center of the place and faced the men that seemed to be the leaders of each party._

_“Very well, we’re here because it came to our notice and this situation must come to an end,” Melicertes instantly cut to the chase, fiddling with the sleeve of his shirt._

_Tereu looked confused for a fraction of second before he composed himself and delivered his part of the speech. “This is a means for us to solve this civilly. If you won’t abide our decisions you may consider your and your party’s lives forfeit.”_

_For a couple of seconds there was a stunned silence before the leader clad in black started spluttering indignantly. “You can’t do this! We don’t have to obey anyone so you have no saying. Besides, who are you to come here, strutting as if you owned the place-“_

_Boy, if this guy was full of himself. How could he say that if he was the one at fault due to his stupid actions? This guy was really dumb! Natsu shook his head in exasperation._

_“We can and we will, as Watchers , and therefore protectors of this area,” Tereu shot him a hard glare. “You infringed the law and should suffer one of the_ maximits penas _but we’ll give you another chance.”_

 _“You have to refund and help all the damaged areas to their previous state and so that we know that you’ll be following our orders you’ll bear the mark of_ disperidum penas _. And that shall teach you. Well, your whole lot, really.”_

_The leader of the ragged group sighed in relief but the other didn’t like it._

_“I don’t care who you are or what you think you can do. There’s no way we’ll be-“_

_He was shut by something hitting him on the solar plexus making all the air escape from his lungs. A yellow light shone brightly and momentarily blinded them._

_When Natsu was able to see again everything looked the same… until he noticed that every men dressed in black had a circle carved in their left cheeks and that inside that circle were two elaborated letters, a “D” and a “P” stood entwined, somehow. The men started noticing and panicking and the leader, furious, was about to crowd on his opponents but the circle shimmered and he fell to the ground, twitching painfully._

_The watchers didn’t take notice, just gave a slight nod to the other leader and turned around, going back the way they had come._

_~^~_

_The doors to the armory opened loudly and Melicertes didn’t lose a moment, entering it hurriedly. He had a scroll in his hands and was grabbing at it with more force than necessary. But, as the scroll was magic, it wasn’t about to be ripped apart._

_He approached the table where Tereu was sharpening some of his swords._

_He slammed the scroll on the table._

_“Look! We’ve just been summoned to go before the Council of the Elders! We haven’t had nothing to do with them since we got here, I-we did everything correctly so far. What if they didn’t like the way we handled Tisameno? We’re doomed!” he was pacing agitatedly and ranting hysterically._

_Tereu just laid down his sword and answered calmly, “Whatever it is we’ll be able to overcome. We didn’t do anything wrong…”_

_Melicertes snorted._

_“Is there something you wanted to tell me?” the bulkier man said._

_“Me? No, nothing that I can recall, no…” and he shook his head for emphasis._

_Tereu wasn’t convinced in the least but let that slide and headed to the door, scroll in hand. Melicertes hurried after him still behaving strangely._

_Natsu let his head rest on his folded arms. He still wasn’t quite sure of what the mentors wanted him to apprehend but he wondered how long would he stay here. Ha also wondered how long it would take until he could eat something._

_He dropped his arms and let his cheek rest on the slightly grainy wooden tabletop._

_~^~_

_Light filtered from above, the high ceiling, infusing the room with a muted bluish-green color._

_The room was cold and exuded a solemn feeling._

_A long table stood where the largest beam of light focused. Sitting down were nine solemn figures, their expressions almost as if carved in stone._

_In front of the table, Melicertes and Tereu stood up, lightened by a smaller beam. They seemed to be calm but a certain nervous aura surrounded them._

_”We all know why we’re here, it is time for us to proceed and analyze your actions in the Tisameno event,” said the man at the center of the table, stroking his beard slowly and his eyes glinting inquisitorially. He seemed to be tall, muscled and with a tanned skin. He wore a sleeveless chainmail that allowed them to see the tight orange shirt he wore underneath – and that as far as they could see. As an outstanding detail, he had a large (of about twenty centimeters) metallic band in his right arm in which the light reflected. It had a unique pattern, Natsu couldn’t help but notice._

_To their left (because Natsu was standing with them, on Melicertes’ right) a small man (or was that a child?) stood up, holding a parchment, and started reciting the summary of the events, being so precise that he even mentioned statistics and number of casualties. When he finished, the first man asked, “Do you have anything to add?” he looked firmly at both men and, strangely, also directed his attention to where Natsu was – that supposedly was an empty space. That made Natsu gulp because – from all the looks he was receiving – these people_ could _see him._

_Melicertes advanced a step, “Wait a minute. I think that there must be an error in the number of casualties. To me, it sounds like they were switched.”_

_The woman that had done their ritual shook her head sadly, “The numbers are correct,” she steepled her fingers and let her chin rest in them, “That is also the point that we wanted to address. You didn’t act in the best way, were rash and used magic unnecessarily. There was no need to that or the number of victims that ensued.”_

_“But – they were attacking and I figured it was the best way…” he looked to the side in search of some backup but Tereu seemed to be stunned._

_“While you may have a point, you’re forgetting that you_ must _be in a position of balance. It’s not up to you to side with some because then you’ll…” she let her words die down and her eyes glazed and seemed to be looking into the far distance. She let herself fall heavily to a sitting position._

_Melicertes elbowed Tereu covertly and that seemed to snap him out of his reverie. They managed to exchange a glance before having to stand to attention again._

_The light that now fell had pink and orange hues and while that gave a warmer feel to the room, Natsu found himself wondering how long had they stood in this place._

_At some point the tone of the discussion rose and all the people at the table tried to make themselves heard, speaking ever so loudly, until the man at the centre punched the table loudly and shut the room up._

_“Very well… We’ll have to decide on a punishment for your bad conduct but it will be attenuated due to your young age and because it’s not been long since you’ve been in your position. But you’ll have to read the protocol in depth. Later, Sarpedon will test your knowledge.”_

_Natsu saw Melicertes hang his head and mutter a curse but he quickly regained his composure. “As you wish,” he gave a tiny, rigid, bow._

_“I think that with this, now we shall proceed to the following point…”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Unbetaed.


	33. The Two Books: Friends clashing

_“This is ridiculous!” Melicertes gave a vicious kick on an innocent chair that crashed into the wall._

_“Calm down, will you? It’s no big deal,” Tereu tried to calm his seething friend._

_Said friend spun around and was about to push him against the wall – then thought better and contented himself with moving his arms in an exaggerated way. “No big deal? NO BIG DEAL? Did you even understand what happened over there? They humiliated me – treated me as if I-we, were children,” he said, almost hysterically, “and then the whole protocol debacle… I know the protocol – studied it deeply and they want me to pass a test on it with the toughest, strictest, never-approved-anyone studious of protocol. I know it very well but with that man it will be impossible, a chore doomed from the start…”_

_“You’re not going to get all depressed and stuff, are you?”_

_At this Melicertes straightened up and assumed a haughty attitude, “With this? Never!” and they entered the large cave where Ligure and Istmico were already waiting._

_With a shrug Natsu followed._

_~^~_

_“You won’t believe it, we are to go file some archives at the Io Library! You know, the_ Io Library _that holds the annals of immemorial times, all the significant tomes in the matters and such – that Io Library! I never thought that I would get to go there, always wished I could but never…” Melicertes had just entered the main room and was babbling excitedly and almost bouncing with the barely contained excitement._

_Tereu finished scribbling some notes in a document and sighed, looking up, “Wait – calm down. What are you saying?”_

_Melicertes paused and looked at him, grinning like a madman. “We’re going at the most awesome, brilliant library –_ ever _!”_

_~^~_

_Standing from the outside, flanked by the dragons, Natsu looked up and, honestly, he didn’t find anything so outstanding in this library. Maybe it had good things on the inside but on the outside it was quite a disappointment._

_They were deep into the woods – perhaps at the heart of the forest – and before them, encased in the millennial trees (that were huge) stood a building in a beige tone, with a thousand of tiny dark spots – were those windows? – and at the base there was no door. Which was puzzling because, how could you enter without a door?_

_A sudden glimmer from one of the windows caught Natsu’s attention and then he felt something akin to a wave of water crashing against his body and strange tentacle-like threads probing all over his body. That was definitely weird._

_“What was that?” Tereu asked nervously._

_“From what I read that’s the first round of security. As we progress there will be other security checks. And that’s also how it knows what we want to do and what are our needs.”_

_“You speak of this place as if it were alive.”_

_“Alive I wouldn’t say but this is old, very old…” he paused thinking, “They say that this is from the primordial magic and that it has stood here ever since there was memory. No-one knows how it works, at least they said so in the book I read…” he shrugged and they started walking towards the building._

_The next moment they stood in a room that was quite dark, the walls covered with bookcases, with a large oval table at the center and three chairs (if they noticed something strange no-one said so) under a large chandelier. From the triangular window in the far wall only a thin sliver of light filtered through. The chandelier lit up and they felt the floor shake._

_“See, they have everything that is needed to everybody” Melicertes looked up and was followed by the other two._

_“So you’re saying that this was them landing, huh?”_

_“Precisely. Now, we have work to do,” and he dropped two big tomes he had taken from one of the bookcases on the table._

_“Ohhh, do we have to? You know how I hate all that bureaucratic crap…” Tereu whined._

_“Fine, just… read something adequate, okay?” the other said as he sat at the table._

_With a victorious cheer Tereu browsed the books before sitting down with a tome of ‘_ Cadmo’s Tactics – the Spike Maneuvers’ _._

_And Natsu. What was he supposed to do? Sitting down at the table he thought that he would be bored to death in this place until he noticed a small, simple book with no words on the cover, that was sitting right in front of him as if calling to be read._

_Natsu stretched his hand and stopped._

_First he thought how ironic it was to read a book while he actually was reading a book – his mentors were messed up! – but then he got cautious. What if it wasn’t meant for him, if it was a trap of some sort?_

_But then he saw the strange mist that rose from the table and reached his hand, almost as in greeting, and made his fingers tingle slightly._

_If this was one of those security things, the book was probably meant for him._

_He held the purple cover and started reading._

_A gasp tore itself from his throat._

_There was a click somewhere within and his memories started surfacing, rushing through his mind and highlighting those little things of a bond (stories and legends at that time) that Igneel had taught him. There was a lot – a big lot - of things that were coming back and Natsu felt a bit conflicted if he should laugh or cry at all these things._

_The beam of sunlight at the end of the room shifted and hit Natsu’s eyes, he couldn’t see a thing, the whiteness surrounded him and squeezed._

_~^~_

_Natsu fell down with a pained gasp. He had landed on something pointy and hell if it didn’t hurt!_

_The dragon slayer got up, turned around and set on destroying whatever it was until he found that it was an armor, the whole surface covered with pointy bits._

_This place was quite different from the austere room in the library, as it was covered with brocades and finery._

_The room was draped in yellow and blue cloths that seemed to be of the highest quality._

_In the far wall a man sat in a throne, he had a regal pose. Tereu was standing and looking impassively at him._

_“Didn’t you hear? I need your help. To extend peace from here and throughout the Southern Quadrant there is the need for… you – you have to help me!” The King made a vague gesture before passing his fingers through his thin mustache._

_“I appreciate your offer but I can’t do that. It goes against all my duties…” Tereu said calmly._

_The King scoffed, “So you have to oblige to your duties but the other Guardian doesn’t? Now, that’s a bit unfair, don’t you think?” he asked with a small glint in his eyes._

_The earth mage lost a bit of his composure, his muscles became slightly tense and he demanded, “What are you implying? Both I and the other watcher are quite mindful of our duties, I can assure you that-“_

_“Can you, truly?” the man smirked in an infuriating way and picked a scroll from a nearby table. He got close to Tereu and offered it. “You might believe so but I found some evidence of the contrary…” he turned and walked leisurely towards the throne – but not before Natsu noticing the smirk turning into a shark-like grin for an instant before disappearing. Those were bad news – Natsu knew so…_

_Tereu didn’t notice a thing because he seemed to be struggling with the piece of parchment. Should he open it or not?_

_He managed to pull himself together, excuse himself and go to his dragon. Natsu was right behind him, walking briskly._

_~^~_

_They got to a small promontory and only then, under Ligure’s insistence did the earth mage tear open the seal and start reading. Natsu tried to peer over the man’s shoulder but only saw lines, black lines all over the page and he couldn’t discern a single letter. He scowled and sat down on the grass in front of the other two. That gave him a good position to notice the various shifts of emotion in the other's face. From his frown the face shifted to shock, eyes wide open, eyebrows so high that they almost got to the hairline and the mouth was moving in broken mute words. Then the man got as pale as a sheet._

_In the following moment the parchment was crunched and turned into a ball, and a furious look had settled over the muscled man. He got up and started pacing, sparks of fury coming off of his eyes and his jaw was tightly set._

_The dragon just watched, looking – Natsu noticed with shock – apprehensively. Tereu turned._

_“How could- He couldn’t have-“ his hands – now parchment-free – moved in every direction. “He just…” He got to the edge of the cliff and let out a cry of rage, the earth trembling under their feet._

_“Alright… I’m a bit calmer now,” he huffed as he got to the dragon’s side. “Let’s just go home and think about this okay?”  
“Do you think that’s the best course of action? Shouldn’t we just ask them…?”_

_“He pretended it was nothing, Ligure. We can pretend right back at them.”_

_“But they’ll know something’s up. They must’ve felt it too…”_  
“He’ll just think I got furious over some minor matter as usual…” He patted the dragon before hoisting himself onto the other’s back and saying, “Let’s just go home now…”  
Natsu was used to this by now so he also got on the dragon’s back and wondered if his bad feeling from before had something to do with this.

_~^~_

_Natsu landed behind Istmico and Melicertes, somewhere in the forest. He noticed that they were talking in hushed, serious tones in what looked like a discussion of sorts._

_“You can’t deny it. There’s something different about them… you noticed the whole secret aura that has surrounded them in the last couple of moons, right?” Melicertes had stated pacing, only pausing to brush his fingers on the bark of the nearest tree._

_“I didn’t say otherwise,” the dragon answered with a certain aloofness. “But I queried Ligure and didn’t get anything from him. Even if I have to admit, these little getaways of late are rather worrying….”  
“And not only that!” the wood mage threw his hands in the air, “They have been nearly absent from some important tasks – and now that _ war _,” he spat the word, “has begun our position’s much more needed to perform the duties,” he stopped pacing and folded his arms, “besides, I can feel them distancing themselves…”_

_The dragon shook his head, sadly._

_“I had come to that conclusion already. There’s something blocking the path. We need to see where they have been going to.”_

_“I agree…”_

_~^~_

_Natsu’s surroundings started changing and he only saw Istmico land and Melicertes drop to the ground and start walking in the Salamander’s direction in regal strides._

_As he brushed past Natsu, the dragon slayer was able to take a good look at this part of the forest they were in._

_It was… darker. The trees’ green of a darker shade, as were the thick plants that covered the ground like a shiny, slick rug._

_“We lost them. How could we?” Melicertes had stopped and was looking at the trees with a look of extreme focus._

_“It wasn’t hard, we had to take a lot of care and not allow them to notice us,” the dragon replied reasonably._

_“I know that but how are we going to find them now?” he approached one of the trees and splayed his hand in the bark, paying no heed to the slimy fluid that was slowly coating it._

_“I know that something’s not right…” he muttered._

_A rumble was his only answer._

_At that precise moment a wind swept through that place, ruffling Natsu’s hair and making the majority of the plants that surrounded them lean towards Melicertes. The earth under their feet also trembled slightly. Natsu looked down, puzzled and when he looked back up Melicertes was already talking his hand from the wood. He shook it impatiently, making green droplets fall in every direction. His mouth was twisted in what appeared to be disgust._

_“He’s going south… But that’s also where the disturbances…” he closed his mouth, a deep frown carved into his face. “We need to go,” he walked to the large, his blond hair slipping from the band, his slimy hand running through his scalp impatiently. He didn’t even notice how dirty his locks ended. “I don’t know where, though…” he bit his bottom lip._

_“I advise caution. Maybe it would be better to go back, think about things and…”  
“I know! But why would they – he – go there at this time? Our orders were to stay out of the way, only to act as a last- argh! Tereu has a _ lot _of explaining to do…” he jerked his head to look at the sky._

_A sudden gust of wind brought a cloud of dirt to Natsu’s nostrils and he started coughing, bending at the waist. Around him the forest tinged in a brown color before everything got out of focus._

_~^~_

_He was back at the house, at the main room but something had changed._

_The dragon slayer looked around but there was no-one._

_‘Strange. They should be here…’ he sat down in one of the comfortable chairs that were in front of the desks. Just as he was about to get more comfy the doors opened violently, crashing against the wall and vibrating momentarily due to the impact._

_“You can’t do that!”_

_Raised voices cut viciously through the silence that had reigned until then._

_Natsu turned to see both mages enter the room. They had a stiff set to their shoulders and it seemed that the conversation was on the brink of turning from a verbal argument to a fist fight._

_“You’re not doing that. It’s against the rules, to everything we stand for-“ Melicertes had turned towards the small balcony – but had his body positioned in such a way that he was still facing Tereu._

_“Rules? Ah!” Tereu had put a desk between them and just slammed his hands down on it. “Yes, because you’re ‘_ Mister Rules _’,“ he spat these words, as if they disgusted him, “you follow the rules at every moment, right? You’re a big know-it-all about this matter, right?”_

_“Allow me to remind you that I’ve been studying-“ Melicertes cut himself off quickly._

_“And why are you studying them, remember?” a sneer appeared in the earth mage’s face._

_“Don’t you dare…”_

_“Yes I do! You overstepped your bounds and were punished. You can’t come here and tell me those things as if you had never done anything. I know perfectly well what you did.”_

_The wood mage’s face paled instantly, his eyes bulged a little and he stammered before managing to reply. “Wha-what I did? What do you mean?”_

_For some instants it seemed that things could end there but Tereu was relentless._

_“I know what you did,” his eyes were sparkling in fury, “I know how you spat on all the rules, on our duties and for what? For a lousy-“_

_“You don’t know anything!” Melicertes was standing taller, matching the other’s stance. “You’ll never understand what or why-“_

_“You did the opposite! There is no excuse. And if I’m taking a place in what’s happening is because I know that they are right. There would be a lot more of benefit to all-“_

_“You can’t choose sides!”_

_At this the contents of the table went flying. Books fell heavily on the floor while the writing utensils twirled in the air before spearing onto the ground or falling and lazily rolling away. Several parchments scattered as if they were a mist, a good portion of them being stained by the small jar of ink that was flying straight at Natsu. It went through the fire mage who breathed relieved. He was not going to get dirty but the same couldn’t be said about the chair… he was going to look back at the still arguing mages when he noticed the thing digging uncomfortably on his back. It was the small jar._

_But it… how could it… hadn’t the jar just…?_

_This was just another of the things he didn’t understand._

_His attention was snapped back to the argument._

_“So you’re going to be immature and continue with that childish farce? Very well,” Melicertes was saying “but you’re still to oblige to your duties.” He was silenced when the door slammed closed._

_“You stupid fool. Didn’t you equate that for every action there is a reaction?” Melicertes had tilted his head so that his expression was shadowed. “You’ll have to learn it the hard way, I guess,” the mage lifted his head and threw a smug smirk at the door. “And I’m not going to make that easy for you.”_

_Melicertes also left the room; leaving Natsu alone, reeling at what he had just witnessed._

_What had happened that had changed those guys – those friends – into these men who were barely civil to each other?_

_And how were the dragons faring in all of this?_

_He really wanted to understand what was happening._

_~^~_

_Next thing he knew, both mages were sitting at a large table in an immense salon. The silence could be cut with a knife._

_They didn’t speak, didn’t look at each other as they read and signed the stacks of papers that were in front of them. They had to exchange some of the papers every now and then and in those moments the temperature seemed to drop immensely; Natsu wondered distractedly if Gray would feel at home at this temperature. Cutting glares would be exchanged and things would continue the same as before._

_It came to his notice that from a slightly open window, sounds born from chaos were reaching them._

_Tereu stopped and looked up._

_“There’s no use. As things are right now, it’s impossible to escape the war.”_

_Melicertes lay down his writing utensils and leaned back, his mouth twisting a bit._

_“War shouldn’t be the way, but you’re right, war is unavoidable,” he seemed far away while pronouncing those words, his eyes blurring a little. But they snapped into focus and ended up looking at the other. “I hope you chose well…” he got up and started walking – completely dismissing the other._

_Tereu was still sitting at the table, blinking slowly. He hadn’t expected that reaction but it filled him with rage._

Who did that fucker think he was? Did he think he understood war? Did he think he could see the tiny shift that signaled who had the upper hand or the feel of the air as it heated with the clash of enemies – of men trying to best other men while trying to protect their land or their beliefs? Only in his next lifetime – if he were lucky – would he be able to do that!

_Natsu gasped and had to lean on the table. The other man had punched it viciously and gotten up, starting to pace, muttering derogatory words at the other but this thing that had crashed against Natsu… these must have been the feelings and thoughts running through the earth mage’s mind…_

_That was_ not _a comforting realization – besides, he was invading the other’s privacy and-_

_~^~_

_Natsu was falling, only able to see that to both his sides, dark and heavy clouds were strolling lazily._

_Instinctively the fire mage looked around, trying to find some thing to hold onto but there was nothing._

_His feet impacted with the hard ground and the Salamander found himself sprawling on a sandy patch along the ground. He knelt and patted himself, noticing that his left knee was bleeding. Was it even possible? To get injured while reading a book?_

_He shook his head and looked up._

_The sight that met him was completely unexpected._

_Before his eyes two large armies were battling. The one on his left wore the red and yellow colors while the one on the right was draped in blue and white._

_Okay, this was one of the wars from before the Council had taken place, from the old times of conquest. He remembered it, was able to situate himself in time but a question remained, why was he here?_

_What had the mentors wanted to show him with this display of the old ages?_

_A wave of noise – the metal of swords and armors – spread throughout the land but wasn’t able to muffle the roars that descended over the hill at that moment._

_Natsu looked up and there they were, both dragons locked in an intricate yet beautiful dance._

_There was a lot of power overhead as both dragons and riders tried to summon and outdo themselves and defeat the other._

_They were not kidding._

_That was a deadly dance and there was no way to predict who was going to win._

_The earth rumbled and moved. The trees twisted and curved – almost as if they were adopting an offensive position._

_It was at that moment that Natsu noticed the state of the land where the armies (and the dragons in the sky) were fighting._

_At first sight it looked like an unnatural clearing – and a huge one to boot – surrounded by the green forest but as Natsu did a double take, he was able to see that the clearing didn’t stop growing. He didn’t have to look or think much, he saw that the mages were consuming those elements._

_They could do that?_

_He didn’t know it was possible – he had never witnessed such a scene so he was understandably shocked._

_A large gust of wind made him take a step back as one of the dragons swept overhead, in a complicated twist that had him going up again._

_The battle became frantic – the ground trembled in response to both factions spreading over the clearing at the same time that large amounts of blood were spilled. The soil made the blood disappear in an uncanny semblance to a thirsty man…_

_The pace of the battle in the sky also increased, the attacks by each dragon were growing in force and craziness._

_That was not going to end well…_

_It didn't. One of the dragons was falling, quickly and uncontrolled, about to crash until, with a last desperate effort he stabilized. The dragon impacted the earth with more control than expected. There was a small distance between them but they knew that it was easy to defend, if the need arose. Ligure had a huge gash that ran from his left hind leg and across his belly. It bled profusely but the cut wasn’t overly deep._

_Tereu was standing still. Winds went through him and made his clothes snap around him. He didn’t care. The grip that the mage had on the sword tightened until his knuckles turned white. His eyes were following his adversary, intently._

_The other dragon also landed and Melicertes got to the ground with an infuriating calm, he was smiling and had the demeanor of someone that knew he was the winner._

_This confused Tereu a little. Melicertes might be good at fighting – in his area – but this kind of things… no, there were very slim chances for him to defeat Tereu. He had never managed to do so in a setting similar to this and usually that would be it. But this man was no longer the one he knew, he had done awful things and justified himself, without feeling the least bit of guilt. No, this man was too sure of himself and in the dark haired mage’s mind there was only one answer to that behavior. He was cheating._

_Sure, this was a war and people fought dirty but he was a guardian at the same time – was bound to follow the most basic rules of decency, right?_

_As his eyes landed on the sword, the earth mage felt all the color drain from his face._

_So much for fighting with the least amount of decency._

_“Melicertes – that sword…” he saw the other’s indulgent look as he moved the sword._

_“I know… all those things they were saying were exaggerated…” he had a small smirk, dark circles were under his eyes and they glinted strangely as he fondled the sword. The hilt was in a very dark (it oscillated between dark blue, brown and black) material and had a dark green gem inlaid in it. The blade was large, built with a metal whose color seemed to fluctuate between a grey and an orange tint._

_“You can’t do that! There is no way for us to predict the way or-“_

_“That’s because you are fools, cowards. There is nothing to fear if one handles things carefully…” he brought the tip of the sword to the ground, penetrating the now pliable soil. His stance was shifting, subtly, very subtly, to an offensive one._

_“Melicertes! You don’t know what you’re doing. You have to stop. Now!” The earth mage still tried to reason with the person who had been a friend. But he could see that the words had no effect._

_Well, when words failed there was always the possibility that some action would succeed. And he had always deemed himself a man of action._

_“Very well, if this is what you want…” his body shifted to a practiced stance – this happened to be his favorite as it was quite versatile, allowing a smooth shift from attack to defense._

_The cocky smile hadn’t left the other’s face._

_Natsu stood on the sidelines, he could hardly believe that these were the same men from before. They had passed from friends – best friends – to these cold and hating individuals._

_The tension in the air stretched until there was nothing more – it was in that moment that it snapped, as loud and shocking as a bullet passing through the barrel of a gun._

_There was the momentary clink of armor and weapons and then they were running. The clash of metal on metal was overpowering, at the same time sparks showed the brute strength that was being unleashed in this deadly battle._

_“Come on, is that the best you can do?” the light haired mage asked as he effortlessly parried the attacks and did some of his own._

_Tereu didn’t answer and focused back on the fight. He could feel that something was wrong – and that was probably one of the effects of fighting against that sword without the adequate means. The earth mage was, however, able to see through the other’s tactic. He was trying to tire him out – pity that it was not going to be effective with him._

_The ground trembled and Melicertes lost his balance. Tereu was going to use that opening but the other regained his balance way too quickly._

_Natsu saw how Tereu had the first momentum and was pushing Melicertes back but for a long time they fought and were equal. There was, however, one thing that confused the dragon slayer; they should have called forth their power instead of fighting with the swords – at least that’s what he would have done. There had to be a reason, they barely used the elemental power (visibly, as it was probably being used to fuel the fight)._

_With power to the mix or without, the fire mage noticed that there were some odd movements, little things that made Natsu want to shout at Tereu to be careful because his adversary was up to something bad._

_Melicertes feigned a clean attack with his sword, when it was counteracted by the other (and leaving Tereu in a slightly precarious pose) the wood mage took the opportunity to grab a dissimulated dagger and aim at the throat._

_Despite the enormous strain that the position had put him in, Tereu grabbed the dagger – by the blade – and made his other hand turn, what made the sword rotate in a circle and nearly disarm his opponent. It was close but, unfortunately, not enough._

_They walked in a circle, assessing the other’s condition and thinking about the next strike._

_The fire mage had been so enthralled by the fighting styles that he almost missed a crucial thing – the dragons!_

_For the time being the dragons had remained still, guarding the rider’s backs and embarking in a psychological challenge against the other. Ligure had stopped the blood from flowing and was standing, imposingly with eyes locked on Istmico’s. Behind their large bodies a huge wall of earth and wood rose. The elemental walls seemed ready to fall down over them._

_But looking towards the more active action, it was possible to notice that Tereu’s stance was a bit fragile now, his bloody right hand slipping from the hilt despite him trying to steady his hold._

_Melicertes was holding his sword on his right hand and had produced a new dagger. He let both blades touch, making a cross in front of him only to get into position to clash again against the other mage._

_They rushed forward, their feet burying on the ground as their swords met with unbelievable strength. But while parrying the blow, Melicertes gyrated and in a violent turn he made Tereu fall – managing to disarm the other mage. The sword turned joyously in the air and fell on the ground, a good distance away from them._

_Tereu got to his knees before cold metal nicked gently at the delicate skin on his neck, making blood flow from that wound._

_“You see? I won. And it wasn’t nothing much. I think that you, my friend, are losing your touch…”_

_“I’m not your friend anymore!” the other mage all but snarled._

_“By the forgotten garden! Stop being so difficult. Oh…” he wasn’t looking at Tereu, “or maybe that’s not going to happen. Do you remember the rules?” he asked in a cold voice._

_Tereu looked confused, “The rules? Why?”_

_The smile on the other’s face turned evil, “Because if you fail or perpetrate an offense big enough there is only one sentence. And I think that you happen to do at least one of those things.”_

_The kneeling man’s eyes widened, panic and fear were rising. He brought his hands to the blade, to get it away from his skin. This action was met by a jerk of the hand that held the sword. Tereu’s left hand was lopped off as were the tips of his right hand’s index and middle fingers._

_A cry tore out of his throat as pain took over his body. Tereu’s right hand flew to the bloody stub as he tried to stave off the blood._

_Eyes clouded by pain looked up. He managed to utter brokenly, “How-how could you d-do that?”_

_“You were the one that was talking about the rules. You know why…”_

_“T-that’s not you. The sword- the sword must have…” the earth mage clenched his teeth to cut the whimper that wanted to escape._

_“You’ve been deluded. Not all the power that you get needs to undergo those strict, outdated rules…”_

_“So you’re going to kill me like that? For that kind of power? What about the blood oath?” Tereu gasped with his head bent._

_There words gave the wood mage a slight pause._

_“Cheap trick, when compared with other things,” at this both Natsu’s and Tereu’s eyes bulged._

_“Say goodbye, old friend,” muttered Melicertes as he rose the sword._

_Tereu kept looking at him without flinching._

_His lips moved silently and his stare continued fixedly on the man that used to be his friend._

_Natsu stood stock-still._

_Everything was happening too quickly!_

_He couldn’t believe that this was happening. What the hell?_

_The sword started descending in a downwards arc._

_Natsu couldn’t take it._

_He started running._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Betaed by DLZdimension.


	34. The Two Books: Another Hurdle

_Time seemed to slow down. And Natsu’s strides weren’t getting faster, unfortunately._

_The dragon slayer ran as fast as he could, his heart was beating wildly and he could not believe that this was happening. Sure, he didn’t know these men but he had been able to see who and what they had been for a certain amount of time, and he_ knew _them, some_ _how. This couldn’t end like this, right?_

 _The fall of that blade could_ not _be final!_

_He didn’t want that!_

_No, Natsu wasn’t going to allow that – that was for sure._

_But, try as he might, he wasn’t covering enough ground, when compared to the glinting blade, eager to meet the ground._

_That was another thing._

_The gritty soil crunched underneath his feet, creating way too much noise and somehow slowing down his progress._

_Clenching his teeth, Natsu demanded more from his muscles, more from himself – he had to get there! And he was so close too!_

_However, so was the unforgiving blade._

_Tereu and Melicertes were looking intently at each other. Something was being said there, probably – but it wasn’t for Natsu to know._

_Then Melicertes’ face contorted strangely and, for one brief moment Natsu had hopes that he was going to stop – and it would be right in time._

_Alas, time sped up incredibly and the blade hit its intended target. The cut was quick and precise. The head flew through the air, in an arch that had the ground being painted in red – only to be quickly drank by the thirsty ground._

_Natsu stumbled to a stop, and fell to the ground, big clouds of dust growing all around him. The fire mage lay there, leaning up on his elbows and staring at the scene in front of him. His mouth had fallen open and he still had yet to notice it._

_The corpse slumped to the ground slowly, blood seeping into the dry dirt. It was in a big quantity and was creating an absolutely disgusting puddle on the dirt._

_Natsu felt sick, bile threatening to rise._

_Melicertes cleaned the stained blade on the sleeve of the body, a fleeting smirk on his lips._

_The ground started trembling and a deafening roar was heard. The dragon – and how had Natsu been capable of forgetting about the dragons yet again – of the fallen rider was reaching the dangerous limit. He was extremely close to snapping, the Salamander knew it somehow._

_And a dragon snapping meant bad news._

_It was going to happen – something big and terrible… Natsu could feel it in his bones._

_Large chunks of the ground began crackling and splitting with some uproar. Though the worse was the ear-splitting roar that filled the space._

_A cloud of dirt blasted through the place and for some crazy minutes it was impossible to see anything. Some of the debris hit Natsu in the face and he doubled up, coughing. He couldn’t see anything but Ligure’s bellows were heard, reverberating in the fog._

_“Stop him, Istmico!” Melicertes had to be somewhere close, Natsu tried to get closer from where the voice had come from._

_Finally, the dragon slayer found the other mage. He looked worse for the wear, his clothes had been singed – definitely – and he had bleeding wounds on his left side. At least he wasn’t holding that wretched sword anymore, though the hand holding at his side wasn’t doing anything. The sword lay on the patch of ground around them that still held together due to the force of the branches that had sprouted and were the only thing making that bit stable._

_At least, the Salamander was pleased to notice, that shit eating grin had vanished from the other man’s face. Yes, Natsu felt that he did need a lesson; after what he had just – wait, he better not go back there yet._

_A gust of wind cleared the air around them and it was now possible to see the fight that now raged in the sky._

_It was… indescribable, really._

_The fire mage’s eyes were seeing what was happening but his mind didn’t really apprehend that it_ was _happening._

_Some whispered words had Natsu turning his gaze from a sky that was made of swirling sand and twisting branches, locked in a convoluted fight._

_Natsu’s eyes widened some more and he let out a weak “Ah” when he saw what Melicertes was now holding. The sword had, somehow, been turned into a spear and was glinting wickedly every time the little light that permeated the clearing hit it._

_“I’m so sorry, old friend,” muttered the spindly man, though his face carried a neutral look, “but this was the only way…” He kept moving his lips and saying some words after but Natsu wasn’t able to hear them. A green glow surrounded the spear and Melicertes took one step back, then another._

_‘What’s he-?’ The fire mage suddenly knew what the other was meaning to do. He tried to run and reach the other but he wasn’t able to move, it was as if something was locking him in place._

_The spear was thrown, it flew across the sky with unexpected speed. Nothing occurred until…_

_A pained roar was heard._

_The spear had just pierced Ligure and the dragon was shaking, looking like he was having a seizure. The ground rose at it’s beckon, shooting in every direction, some of it even came after Natsu but was warded off as a wooden plank rose in front of him and protected the fire mage._

_Finally, the ground gave a violent lurch and then everything quieted. As the last clouds of dust settled it was possible to see that what had happened._

_The huge mountain that was Ligure’s body lay on the ground, defeated, a stream of blood pooling underneath. Istmico landed near the carcass, its snout resting over the other dragon’s head; then he threw his head back and_ roared _._

_The wood mage scrunched his face in pain and held the center of his chest, breath coming in harsh pants. It wasn’t long before he was kneeling on the ground and trying to catch his ragged breath, sweat dripping from his face to the thirsty ground, his hair falling from the band, in disarray._

_“What now, Melicertes?” the dragon inquired, his rumble cutting the stillness._

_“Now?” the mage lifted his head, eyes slightly wild and breathing still coming in harsh pants. “Now, I don’t know…”_

~^~

_The brown wind that had curled and engulfed Natsu slipped away to give room to a new sight. He was back at the house (he could consider it that, right?) in the main room and the differences he saw between the before and the now was like a slap in the face._

_Everything was so… dusty…_

_Most of the room seemed as if nobody had lived in the place for quite some time. Only a small spot in Melicertes’ desk was lived in and well-kept._

_Which reminded Natsu, where the hell was the other mage?_

_One door opened slowly and a person entered. The fire mage had to do a double take._

_The person that had entered the room seemed to be Melicertes but… he wasn’t the same person that had just replied his dragon in a lost manner._

_This man seemed to be older and to have shrunk a bit – no longer the cocky man who held his head up high, sporting his scars (which seemed to be a lot now). This man was thinner – gaunt would be a more appropriate word – with emaciated skin, huge dark bags under his eyes and streaks of gray staining his hair._

_He reached the table and lay the heavy books, a claw-like hand coming to caress the cover lovingly._

_“Finally, a break… things have been quite hectic, you know?” he looked towards where Natsu was standing._

_The fire mage blinked. Was the guy able to see him or what?_

_The older mage sat on his chair and pulled out a new pile of folder from a hidden door of the desk. “It has been quite a mess, Tereu. And you… you’re a bit at a fault. Who in the gods’ mind would take a vacation like that?” He shook his head slightly, long strands of hair falling over his shoulders. “The Elders went ballistic and I – I, you hear? You owe me big time – had to hear them. Then there was the mess because of the war… my side won, you know? Even in this you were hunted by bad luck… even if it was a long time ago.” He shrugged._

_There was a noise, coming from somewhere far away that had Melicertes tilting his head slightly. His mouth hung open for long moments before he got up quickly, his hands coming to rest on the desk where they made a couple of towers of books fall off._

_“Oh no! No. No-no-no-no,” he shook his head in shock. “This can’t be happening– It’s not possible that- How could it? I sealed it off…” Melicertes straightened up and headed to the closest door._

_“Istmico!”_

_Blackness fell over Natsu._

~^~

_The land was ashen, small fires still burning here and there, where there was still fodder._

_Natsu found himself leaning against the dragon’s tail, taking in the desolate landscape. He could overhear the conversation between Melicertes and Istmico, apparently where now those piles of rubble sprouted, a village had stood not long ago._

_“They took all they could and vanished.” Said the dragon. “The mark is faint but it emanates strongly. This hasn’t been the work of younglings… We’re up against something powerful – both in magic and earthly power. I’ve been told that there was a prophecy…”_

_“No, Istmico. It can’t be that – I won’t allow it! We don’t have the means to stop it if it is_ that _-“ he spat the words, “-prophecy. And you know what that means…”_

_The dragon snapped his head to the front, and threw an offended glare._

_“You think you can do that? Melicertes, you’re acting delusional to a big number of things but this is one, if not_ the _one, where you just can’t afford it. Wake up, please. You need to be out of that thing where you’ve been lately…” the dragon’s words took a slightly alarmed tone, underneath the gruffness. “I know about the loss. I feel it too but you can’t continue down that road-“_

_“Istmico, just… shut it.” The mage stood taller, his cape snapping behind him, with the wind that had risen. “We are going to overcome this. Just you wait and see…”_

~^~

_From that scene Natsu found himself in a dark room, only lit by moonlight in the few spaces where the windows allowed it to enter the room. Then, a candle was set alight and the figure holding it lit the remaining candles that sat in the candle holder. Melicertes sat on the small table that was illuminated by the orange glow of said candles. He looked extremely pale – even in candlelight – and the bags under his eyes contributed to give him an ill look; the dancing shadows that flickered through the man’s face only aided to the idea of sickness._

_“I know you’re there…” the man, that now looked like a living skeleton told the air._

_Natsu gulped. He wasn’t talking to him – was he?_

_“Istmico said that it wasn’t going to work but I did it.” He started coughing, a hacking, raspy sound. “It was harder than expected… for I once felt whole and now it feels as if I only had one remaining limb…” sighing, he sat back on the chair, face being hidden by the shadows._

_“So, you can hear me?” the fire mage asked, finally._

_“There is no need for words, Tereu. I shall lay down the final notes about the secret. The power is too much to be contained and there isn’t a person able to tame it… But, it was good while it lasted. And it was an honour to go on this hard task with you…”_

_“Eh? You’re not going to kill yourself, are you?” Natsu couldn’t help but demand. This situation was getting a little too much._

_“The power… that was the problem! Hadn’t I been such a greedy person and you a stupid one, none of this would’ve happened. Now… now there’s only the stillness of the night. Everything became the same and nothing is the same, as is the water under the bridge.”_

_The Salamander sat on the chair that was in front of the remaining guardian. He wanted to know what had happened to the dragon. Why was Melicertes speaking in such a crazy manner?_

_The background faded until only Melicertes was visible, writing on a notebook._

_“The omens are showing what’s to come. I postponed it for a bit. But it is coming, the darkness looms on the horizon and just one misstep will plunge us in the abyss.” Vacant eyes on a too old face raised to meet the fire mage’s wide ones. “Beware of the signs...”_

_“What the hell do you mean? Darkness… Abyss… What signs?” the Salamander shook his head disbelievingly._

_“The balance that rules, there is a thin line dividing the whole.” The eyes focused on Natsu and life sparkled in them, if only for a few instants. “There is too much on the line now.” He stood up, right hand elevating and, with it, a wooden pillar. He let the palm brush against it calmly before turning towards Natsu, once again._

_“You’re the one that bears the weight.”_

_Those were the last words Natsu heard before the world went black and pain surged against him. It felt as if something – or someone – were ripping his skin and his flesh, deep inside. This excruciating pain filled him and tore his breath from his lungs in a half-choked gasp._

~^~

Natsu took a lungful of air, hands gripping tightly at the book. He looked wildly to the sides. But he didn’t take long to recognize that he was back in Gray’s living room, and that his friends were still there, deep into their own books.

Erza was biting her lower lip and flipping pages at a very fast pace, Happy was dozing peacefully near her. When Natsu turned his head towards Gray he could see that the ice mage was pale as a sheet, looking at his notebook. A slight pressure behind his eyeballs was starting to grow and give him what was looking to be a massive headache. He looked at the book and stared, without seeing, at the pages. He had… he had a lot of things to consider.

~^~

Erza was, probably, on her sixth book and getting very frustrated, as she knew that she wasn’t closer to finding an answer or anything that could help them in this matter of the bond; and she and all the others were on the outside, unable to do anything, unable to help. Heck, even trying to help Gray physically was out of the question.

So, she plunged into these books, trying to find something, with unseen ferocity.

The red head leaned back on her chair, letting the book fall on her lap, one hand running through her hair, pushing it from her eyes. She glanced around the room, even if just to take her mind off of her frustration. Her curiosity was spiked when she noticed that the other two mages, seemingly, were silent and focused on their own books. It was so strange… they even looked to be staring into nothingness, daydreaming even. Storing that thought for later, the mage noticed that it was already quite late (where did time go?) and that Happy had slept through all of it. Erza decided to get up, wake Happy and snap the guys out of wherever they were.

Placing the book on the pile that was to her left, the red head got up and patted the cat’s head, waking him gently.

“Boys,” she said in a normal voice tone, which seemed to manage to wake them from that trance. “Natsu, Gray, come. It’s time to eat…”

How was it possible that they had been so distracted with the books that they forgot about lunch? It was particularly strange to notice that Natsu hadn’t said anything…

“Take it easy. I don’t want you to destroy my kitchen,” grumbled Gray while Natsu helped him up.

They had a quick dinner though, Erza noticed with some astonishment, the fire mage didn’t eat much. After cleaning up the kitchen and storing the few groceries that still remained, Erza looked at them.

“I think that we’re back to square one, boys. Both in food and news.” She saw that Natsu had opened his mouth to say something but quickly closed. “But that’ll be something to be thought about tomorrow. Shall we go to the living room and… let’s just – talk about Lucy. When do you think that she may come back? How do you think that she’s faring at the Celestial Council?”

They went to the messy living room, sat on the couches and chatted abut inconsequential stuff for a while. Not for long because it was already a bit late and they were looking the same way she felt, tired as hell.

“I think it’s time for us to go home.” Erza got up and placed a hand on both her friends’ shoulders. “See if you can get some rest, okay? There’s still time tomorrow.”

And with that, both she and Happy left.

~^~

After seeing their friends out, Gray, who had been trying to hold it together for the other’s sake, let himself go and leaned heavily on the Salamander.

“Eh, Gray!” Natsu hurried to hold him up. “You could warn before doing that, okay?”

“Sorry… I was just feeling so tired…”

“I get it. Anyway, we better get some sleep, if this is going to be like that again tomorrow…”

“Yeah, yeah. Let’s just go to the bathroom, do our own thing and get to bed. Huh, where are you staying this night?”

“Right… and we’re in the same room again. You’re not forgetting-“

“No, I didn’t forget.”

“Fine, now, just let me help you here with-“ They were just a couple of steps away from the bathroom so Gray straightened up and pushed Natsu back.

“I think I get it for now, thank you very much.” He stumbled to the bathroom and slammed the door shut. From the other side it was possible to hear a weight – Gray – leaning heavily against it.

The fire mage blinked. What had just gotten into Gray? With a sigh, he sat down by the door, feeling way too tired.

~^~

Inside the bathroom, Gray was trying to reign over his inner turmoil. He had been hit by the fact that he was stuck – attached – to the fire mage and that there was no way out.

His limbs started shaking and Gray wasn’t sure of being able to take care of his business on his own. And it would be mortifying to have the fire mage with him doing that, again, right?

Mustering all the strength he still had, Gray got ready to bed surprisingly fast.

When he opened the door again, Gray saw that Natsu was sitting on the floor by it. When he looked up, the ice mage notice that his face was sharpened by lines of fatigue.

“It – it’s your turn…”

Natsu got up and, without a word – and nearly a look – entered the bathroom and closed the door behind. Gray zoned out, while waiting, and only Natsu’s steady presence back on his side had him getting to bed without much delay.

They lay in the bed, an awkward silence between them but it didn’t take long before both mages were asleep.

~^~

The rustle of the wind woke them. Natsu opened his eyes at the same time that Gray did, and both looked at the other, surprised.

The blue, cloudless sky was the only thing they were able to see but, sitting down, they were hit by the whiteness of the stone covered by the lush green of the vegetation.

Getting up they started walking trough the gigantic stone columns that were, for the most part, covered by large patches of leaves.

“What is this place?” muttered Gray?

Natsu dragged Gray by the arm as they crossed the terrace, until they reached the handrail at the end.

They had a wondrous view. And noticed that they were in a sort of temple that was on top of a high cliff, with a huge waterfall on the side.

It was a breathtaking sight.

Both mages were looking at it, amazed that a place like this existed.

They were startled when a voice coming from behind called them.

“Glad to see you here.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Betaed by DLZdimension.


	35. First Step

Both mages turned sharply, surprised to see the figure that greeted them.

It was the boy with the four scars on his arm. He was dressed in what seemed to be a white ceremonial attire.

“Where is _here_?” Gray asked, looking around once more.

The boy just smiled beatifically before taking one step closer to them.

“Here is just that. Here. You are in the place you were meant to be at the right time,” was the simple reply.

But Natsu didn’t like it. “Will you stop with the riddles?” he growled while clenching his fists. “We want answers and you said you would give them to us!”

“All in due time,” he said, hands raising to move in a conciliatory manner, “but do calm yourself, Dragonslayer,” steel entered the boy’s features along with a tone that demanded utter compliance. Natsu straightened, unconsciously, standing to attention. “Everything will come in due time. but, for now, follow me, please.”

He turned his back to them and started walking towards the building that had materialized beyond the columns they had crossed earlier.

Natsu and Gray exchanged a look.

“What do you think we should do?” Gray asked.

Natsu shrugged. “Dunno, we should follow him. Maybe we’ll get some answers…”

“Maybe,” Gray sighed. “He and the other did say that they were our mentors. They wouldn’t do all this for nothing.”

They followed the boy.

~^~

Light flooded the building, adding to the whiteness of the stone that surrounded them. The three walked through a big alley, surrounded by massive statues that were broken here and there, entering through the large doorway that led to the hall. From there they continued to walk, the large windows that gave way to what had once been a garden with a lake, showed the dry and sterile environment. Natsu stopped and glanced through the window  lush greenery sprinkled by flowers of bright colours and a lake of limpid water caught his eye. For a second, there were voices – and one in particular sounded so, so familiar to Natsu… He blinked and the spell broke, the dry plain stone was back. A gasp died on the fire mage’s throat but then he shook his head and hurried to catch up with the other two.

The corridor led to a small hall where there were five doors. The two mages saw the bow throwing a glance at them before nodding and pressing his open palm to the wall that blocked the door. From the boy’s arm there was a light glow before the walls started moving, opening.

“Okay, we’re almost there now,” the boy seemed momentarily apprehensive before crossing the entryway.

In this new corridor, light had diminished substantially. Small alcoves carved on the wall at regular distances, emitted a glow that allowed them to see just enough. They reached a staircase and started descending.

The air around them started to feel heavy, clinging to them with a certain apprehensiveness. The air that they had breathed became thick and made them choke on it. The silence that hadn’t been broken was uncomfortable and awkward, both mages wondering if they should be there at all.

Their eyesight adjusted to the dimness and allowed them to see the statues – in much better condition than the ones from the exterior – of thousands of dragons that were glaring at them, an aura of unease exuding from them. This bewildered the mages and bore down even more heavily upon then.

Then, Gray’s foot slipped and he almost fell. Natsu’s hands were holding him up in no time, straightening him. They looked at each other, the air minutely seeming lighter.

“Thanks,” muttered the ice mage. It really felt better to breathe now.

“No problem,” Natsu grumbled, reluctantly letting go of Gray’s arm.

They prepared to continue, noticing that the boy had stopped and turned to them, one corner of his mouth tilted up. When he realized that they had restarted moving, he continued, leading the way.

Gray looked up, sometime later, to look at the statues and noticed that they no longer glared – no, they were now looking beatifically at them. And the sense of unease that had permeated the air had… lifted.

‘The hell’s up with those statues? This is all so weird…’ he thought, unnerved. And the fact that they were being led to gods knew where to do who knew what wasn’t comforting in the least. He knew what they had already done to him – they might call it a test for all he cared – and he didn’t want to trust them blindly but they did need answers. The only comforting thought was that Natsu was there with him and-

Gray stopped.

‘Since when?’ he asked himself. ‘Since when had my thinking about Natsu changed this much?’

A cool voice pierced through his musings.

“You’re finally here. Took you long enough.”

It was the woman’s voice, her figure outlined against the brightness that came through the door that had, apparently, materialized itself in front of them.

“And so, are you ready?” a fanged smirk shone against the darkness that shrouded her face.

”Ready for what?” asked Natsu, with an undertone of a growl. “He,” he pointed at the boy, “just told us to follow him and didn’t say a thing. Then we come through this fucking maze so that you just jump in and say that?!”

“They were accepted by the others,” the boy was telling her.

“So far, so good. I think that this is it,” she replied, a note of hope in her voice.

“Hey! You’re not listening to me!” the fire mage yelled before jumping down, fire already starting to emerge from his fist, he wanted to punch someone.

Unfortunately for him, the woman caught his arm and threw him over her shoulder in one swift and precise movement. Natsu fell on the ground of the new space.

“You need to train your impulse control,” he heard the woman chide. And to Gray she said, “And you, come on in. Time for us to go down to business.” She clapped her hands.

“Come on, get up.” One hand was extended to Natsu and he took it, coming face to face to a young man – who had previously been the boy, apparently. Both his and her clothes seemed to be different – richer and more ceremonial, if that was possible. The fabric almost glowed in its whiteness.

The fire mage gulped. They were going to do it – whatever it was that the mentors had in store for them. But knowing that Gray was on his side was enough to instill some confidence back into him.

It wasn’t for anything that they belonged to the strongest group of the Guild – and to Fairy Tail, the best guild there was!

The four approached the center of the room where a block of stone lay, in the center of a circle that was outlined by what looked like ancient writing in iridescent ink. Just the action of crossing that line filled Natsu with a warmth he hadn’t experienced in quite a while. He glanced at Gray and saw surprise on his face.

The woman reached the other side of the stone and rested both palms on the surface. It shimmered and transformed in a large bowl.

“No…” Natsu said in a tight voice, his face showing pure disbelief. “No! You’re not gonna-“ he bit back his words. “You showed me all that and now ask for this?”

Heaving a sigh the youth placed one hand on Natsu’s shoulder and gave a small squeeze. “You’re just focusing on one part of the story, Dragonslayer, not in the whole. Remember.”

Even so, Natsu shook his head and turned to look at Gray.

“I don’t want that the same happens to us…”

“There’s no reason for it to happen to you. You just have to remember not to cross the line and-“ she stopped when the young man lifted his hand to silence her.

“I can assure you that that what you fear is _not_ going to happen. We will explain later but we really need to continue and do this rite.”

“But why should we trust you?” the Salamander insisted.

“Natsu,” all the attention turned towards Gray. “We’ve already trusted them.” The words pronounced by the ice mage had the two mentors nodding in agreement. “We wouldn’t be here otherwise.”

Natsu bit his lower lip. ‘Because I had the strangest feeling earlier and saw what can happen when a bond goes downhill…’ he thought. But noticed Gray straightening up and standing taller.

“We’re mages from Fairy Tail. That – that is not who you are, right now, you hear me?”

“There’s no need for you to get like that. We will do it!” was the reply before both mages stepped closer to the bowl.

“On this phase we’re going to bind your essences in this place too,” the woman produced a dagger that seemed extremely sharp from under her robe. “And we’ll do it by a blood bond.”

“But wasn’t that what happened already?” Gray asked.

“In that _plane_. Over _here_ it is also necessary-“

“But for what?” Natsu cut in.

“We _will_ answer those questions _later_. For now, please, get closer to the bowl and extend your hands.”

They did so, from opposite sides of the bowl, the woman remaining between them. No words were uttered as she positioned the dagger on Natsu’s palm. Adding just a little bit of pressure, she did a clean line from which blood begun to well up after a little. Drops of crimson liquid fell onto the silvery surface which wasn’t solid, after all, if the circles that formed were any indication. She did the same to Gray’s hand and directed both palms so that both lines were pressing against each other, the blood mingling. Then she stepped back.

Gray and Natsu stood, in the middle, staring at each other. Then they looked down, to the blood that was dripping slowly. The silvery surface became tainted with red drops which became more and more diffuse in the liquid.

From the edges of the bowl liquid started rising, as if being pulled up to converge above the center of the bowl. The mages’ joined hands being washed by it – a red blot appearing where they still held hands. Both mages tried to react to this, trying to let go but they couldn’t pull a muscle, their hands seemingly together.

Then, the liquid started covering their arms and before long, the mages were engulfed in the liquid.

When that happened the liquid turned from red to yellow and started glowing. In response, the letters on the ground also started emitting light.

~^~

There was a crunching noise and the ground shook slight so the voice didn’t come up as much of a surprise.

“Hmmm, do you think you really got it this time?”

The women with three scars on her face let out a growl before turning back furiously, holding the dagger tightly, almost as if getting ready to throw it. “Seis…” she said menacingly.

“Now, Tres, you know that you should act more classy – especially when performing something to,” she paused to let out a derogatory chuckle, “important…”

“Why you-!” she started doing the movement to throw but was stopped by the young man.

“What do you want Seis?” he asked sternly. “We are the ones taking care of this bond. You know how it-“

“Oh Cuatro, dear, don’t be so uptight.” She leaned back on the pillows of the plushy caramel sofa where she was sitting. With resolute movements she eased the wrinkles of her white skirt, followed by a careless brush of her platinum hair back. “It’s not because you’ve taken your ‘grown up’” she made quotation marks to emphasis her words, “act that means that yu have the right to say such things.” She got up and walked to the two mentors. “Besides, you do know who is stronger… no need to disgrace yourself, like your companion,” she turned her back at them, disdain obvious in her voice. Hopping onto the sofa once again she started swinging her legs, looking up amused. “Anyway, what you’re trying to do… it’s going to fail.”

“How can you tell?” asked Cuatro, crossing his arms and adopting a defensive stance.

“Can’t you see?” Seis countered, seeming surprised. “Have you forgotten how you had so much better… candidates… and how they all failed? You’re going after something that doesn’t exist.”

“Why you-!” Tres stomped her way to Seis only to be stopped when the back of her robe was pulled.

“What makes you say that?” Cuatro asked.

“Everybody knows that. Especially the tops. So, it’s no use for you to-“

“They don’t know them.” Cuatro cut in smoothly. “And you know just as well as Tres and me that we need them. This won’t be the end. You really have to believe them…”

~^~

Gray tried to pull his arm out as soon as the thing started climbing up his arm but to no avail. It was an odd feeling, the liquid not only covering his skin but also ingraining under his flesh.

“What the-!” he could hear Natsu trying to move away but the more he struggled the faster he was covered. They locked stares for an instant before Natsu was engulfed by the reddish liquid which covered him next. Gray closed his eyes and mouth and held his breath. Time ticked by, to Gray the world became a lonely darkness – his lungs were starting to burn and it felt so, so, so lonely. The ice mage opened his mouth instinctively and braced himself for the liquid that was going to rush in, only to take a lungful of fresh air. He opened his eyes but it was so bright that he had to close them again. And then, in the darkness it didn’t feel so lonely anymore, a small speck of light hung above him but it grew and grew until it encompassed everything. He looked down and a blue glow was emanating from his chest. His pulse quickened and he started feeling another, in the far distance. A timid red glow blinked, in answer to his. Gray smiled, absentmindedly.

Looking to the side, he furrowed his eyebrow. Their mentors were talking to a girl and seemed agitated. And then the light became too strong that he had to close his eyes again.

~^~

The liquid fire that shot up Natsu’s arm made him want to get his arm out of there. But he couldn’t! So he started struggling but the red liquid wouldn’t be deterred.

“What the-!” came out of his mouth before he started struggling in earnest. He saw that Gray was in the same predicament but he seemed to be less covered. Still, the damned thing just clung to him more tightly, nearly suffocating him.

For what felt like ages the liquid pressed onto Natsu so strongly that he thought he would be crushed to, suddenly, let go.

Natsu took a deep breath, and recognized some scents. Some were strangely familiar – and weirdly comforting – but then Gray’s scent overpowered the rest.

Any suspicion he had had towards the mentors and their reasons vanished when confronted to the need to reach Gray. He saw a feeble blue light in the distance and threw himself towards it, with all his might.

His earing picked loud voices – an altercation – but Natsu paid it no mind, only catching a glimpse through the corner of his eye, and kept running. He had to reach it!

Then, everything became white due to the blinding white light.

~^~

“You know what?” Seis asked, pouting, “I don’t care. I’ve been talking to… well, it doesn’t matter to you. But  we’ve decided that we don’t want this. There’s another way, so, goodbye to these…” she turned towards the great blob of light, raising her arm and opening her hand.

“Another way? Seis, there is _no_ other way!” Cuatro went to stand in her way.

“Cuatro you know what’ll happen if you stand in my way. Go away.”

“No, Seis. I won’t let you do that to our last hope.”

“Ah! Last hope. Don’t make me laugh!”

“You’re completely insane if you think that we’re going to let you pull out _that_ in this place. Have you forgotten the rules, miss goody-goody?” Tres asked, her hair moving wildly down her back.

“I don’t have to answer to _filth_ like you!” she growled, black energy forming in front and around her hand. “ _Arcana-_!”

“ _Decuplat tempra_!” Cuatro yelled at the same time.

The blast of the black mass that was composed of human and dragon parts in several states of decay, crashed against an invisible wall that appeared just before the light blob. It withstood the shock but then vanished.

“You-!” Seis shouted. “How dare you!”

“I’m sure that the boss doesn’t know you just did this, does he?” Tres asked, smirking. “I bet he wouldn’t be pleased to know…” she walked, confidently, to hover above Seis. “And you would no longer be among his favourites,” she chuckled.

“You wouldn’t dare.”

“Go away Seis,” Cuatro huffed, trying to regain his breath. “You lost. Just go.”

Seis’ face turned crimson and she crossed her arms, like a child throwing a tantrum. Then she bit her lip and turned her back, heading to the wall, haughtily.

Tres and Cuatro didn’t pay any more attention to her, Tres resting one hand on Cuatro’s shoulder, assessing him.

“Are you okay? That took a lot out of you…”

“Don’t worry. I just reverted to my smaller form. But it’s going to be okay,” he replied. “Now we need to focus on them. This… we’ll handle it later.”

“Well, things here are about to end in no time…”

The blob dissipated with an audible ‘ _pop_ ’ to reveal the two mages on the floor, drawing ragged breaths. They got up, although somewhat unsteady.

It was with some relief that both mentors noticed the subtle glow that surrounded them before it vanished.

“It all went well, I’d say…” Cuatro remarked.

“Thankfully,” Tres agreed. “But it’s time for them to go. They need some time to recover and I think that your condition might be a bit too much like theirs,” she said in a low voice, then louder, “Congratulations, you did it.” She approached the mages and held their hands, before leading them to where Cuatro had sat on the floor. “Are you okay there, Cuatro?”

“Cuatro? That’s his name?” Natsu asked.

She blinked. “Yes. He’s Cuatro and I’m Tres. Hadn’t we introduced ourselves already?”

“No. You only told us about being our mentors and such,” Gray replied.

“Oh, very well then,” said Tres. “I think that this is all we have for now – not that we had time for more if we wanted to…”

“That altercation made you chatty, Tres,” said the boy tiredly. “You better go now. Try to get some rest.”

“Wait! Who was that woman?” Gray asked at the same time that Natsu was saying, “But you didn’t explain us what-!”

Their strength left them and both mages fell.

~^~

Sunlight was streaming timidly through the window when Natsu and Gray awoke. They were lying in bed with their legs intertwined, Natsu had his arm thrown around Gray’s waist at the same time that his forehead rested against the ice mage’s collarbone. On the other hand, Gray had his arm around the Salamander’s shoulders and his face was tilted so that his nose nearly brushed against the other’s hair.

As they woke up, their walls raised back up and it was with flaming cheeks that they let go of each other and attempted to go to the sides of the bed, subtly.

Both failed.

And so the air became awkward, as the new day started.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Betaed by DLZdimension. Thanks, dear. :D


	36. Hard Task - Part I

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: Yadda yadda, not mine. But the crappy fight scenes are, I guess... Sorry ‘bout that… ^^’
> 
> A/N: Does anyone still care about this fic? No? Well then...  
> Unbetaed.

It began.

The clash between metal echoed in the sad place. Sparks erupted repeatedly as metal hit metal, the axe and the long-bladed spear meeting.

From her position Lucy could see clearly her spirit’s foe.

The spirit looked like something between a goat and an ox, standing on his two feet, he had dark brown trousers and the blackness that surrounded its feet made impossible to discern in what his feet were clad. He also had his muscled torso bare but for a strap that crossed his chest. The face was goat-like, with two thick horns protruding from the head. His weapon was a lance that, so far, was matching easily every attack made by Taurus.

Lucy looked around, it was dangerous if she got distracted as Merope would, most likely, find a way to attack her and win another match.

No.

Lucy had – needed – to turn the tables and show to that group of stuck up people that she was as good as them (if not better – a bit of a pep-talk to raise the mood would not hurt anyone, she reckoned) and that she had every right to dive deeper into the sealed-off secrets of the celestial mages. Yes, Lucy was going to show those snobs who she was and what she had learned – especially since she entered Fairy Tail and started going on those insane adventures with her friends.

And what was it that she was just thinking about? Oh yeah, focus on Merope and keep an eye on the spirits.

The only warning she had was a shift in the wind that made Lucy jump back. Once again she could thank her reflexes as the black metal ball fell to the ground, right where her feet had been just instants ago.

She looked up and, sure enough, Merope was already giving a pull to the ball, making the chains chime softly.

‘It’s now or never!’ Thought Lucy as she put a foot over the ball so that it didn’t move. She called out for Taurus who started heading to her as seen as he could.

He understood what Lucy wanted and, with a powerful swing of the axe he cut the chains that connected the metallic ball to the staff. Lucy didn’t have to breathe as Merope got herself together almost immediately and efficiently set the staff on her side. She didn’t hesitate as she started running towards Lucy. Right before she got to the blonde celestial mage, the ground split open and a small rain of pebbles and earth made moth the girls step back in search of distance, from the place where the battle between the spirits had resumed and was getting quite heated.

A loud yell could be heard right before a strange kind of snow – that was black – circled the place where the spirits battled.

But Lucy couldn’t exactly turn her back on her own battle so she could only hurry to push Merope back so that she could try and help Taurus, though that could only happen after.

Lucy’s eyes roamed the landscape and she saw Merope on the ground. She might have more chances if she just grasped the initiative and continued like that. And to do that she had to get rid of her opponent’s staff, that was for sure…

Lucy started running.

Merope was slowly getting to a standing position as Lucy approached and her eyes were sparkling with fury.

“How dare you!” She roared.

“What?” Lucy asked sarcastically. “Did you expect me to just stand there and not react?” The blonde mage was approaching her foe pretty quickly.

The other quickly spun her weapon, making it so that the blade was turned towards Lucy, quickly being swung her way.

“No.” Merope replied, teeth clenching hard in a sharp smile. “But it is very disrespectful to do that to my weapon.” She was glaring daggers at Lucy.

Lucy didn’t have a chance to reply as the ground suddenly started shaking a lot – the blonde mage nearly lost her balance – and the two celestial mages were distracted for the moment, to be able to see what their spirits were doing.

Rock and earth erupted, tufts of grass – both green and brownish – flew through the air as Taurus and Niu measured their strength once more.

Because it was mostly that, a show of strength and stamina, the force of the impact where their weapons clashed increasing with every new blow.

Both spirits were giving it their hardest, perspiration sticking to their upper bodies, faces creased into frowns due to their focus.

Suddenly Niu seemed to falter, their tenuous balance suddenly being broken and Taurus was falling, doing his best to compensate the shift of forces – and weight – while Niu caught himself. Faster.

It was a clear sign that it had been a feint.

“Taurus!” Lucy yelled but at that time her spirit was clearly ready for the other.

With a movement so fast that it was hard to track, Taurus seemed to have gotten hold of the other and thrown him. He projected him so far that Niu went crashing into the boarder, the wall that limited each arena.

With a metallic ‘ _clang_ ’ the other’s spear fell, skidding a little further in the rocky ground.

“End of the second match. Victory for Lucy and Taurus.” The voice suddenly cut in, making Lucy jump in surprise.

‘We did it!’ She thought, sending Taurus a beaming smile.

Her spirits’ return to its perverted attitude, as it started disappearing in a cloud of smoke, was comforting as the serious expression he’d taken during the fight had felt oddly to the celestial mage.

Her surroundings suddenly became a blur but Lucy was expecting it this time.

When things around her calmed, Lucy took in the new arena. She instantly became aware of which of her spirits would be appearing now.

It was the sea.

Clear-blue water spread out towards the horizon, becoming one with the blue sky on the far distance.

Lucy was standing in the strip of golden sand.

Beyond it, there were trees lining the outer edge of the sand. It probably wouldn’t do to go to the edge of the forest, the boarder was there most likely. Not that she would need to.

There was a soft _shhhh_ noise coming from behind her so Lucy turned around sharply.

Merope was there but she just arched an eyebrow at her and continued walking towards the shoreline.

Lucy looked at her, completely puzzled by her behaviour.

Then she caught herself and started running.

Towards Aquarius.

* * *

Far away from Lucy and her trials, a small meeting was occurring.

Makarov, Porlyusica and Bob were sitting at a table, in comfortable armchairs as a fire crackled on the earth. A scent of spices and honey floated on the air.

But the three friends weren’t reunited there to reminisce, despite the teapot and food spread out on the table.

Their expressions were serious, a slight tension in the air.

Pleasantries were exchanged – it had been quite a while since they’d been together – before Makarov started with the matters at hand.

“Very well. I gathered us here because, apparently,” he tilted his head at Bob, “things are calm but I have two worries. First, there’s the whole situation with Natsu and Gray and then Lucy has been called by the Celestial Council.”

“What happened to those darling boys?” Bob asked, sipping primly from his teacup.

“A pickle.” Porlyusica quickly supplied.

“Oh my. Is it that bad?” The Blue Pegasus master asked in concern.

“There’s too much we don’t know.” Makarov added gravely. “I fear that things might spiral downwards at any moment.”

“You aren’t wrong with that assumption.” Porlyusica said with a snort.

“However,” Makarov said with a sigh, “I have hope that things might go well.”

“Always an optimistic.” Bob chuckled.

“That hasn’t changed.” Porlyusica agreed.

“Yes, yes…” Makarov said in a long-suffering tone. “I haven’t changed a bit. But let’s go to the other matter. How’s the situation in Era?”

Those words plunged the room in a chilly temperature.

Bob’s demeanour darkened.

“I haven’t heard good news from there.” He said tersely. “Apparently there _is_ movement but not enough that we can gather as evidence.”

“Do you think that they will act any time soon?” Was Porlyusica’s question.

“It’s impossible to know.” The bald man shook his head.

“But when they do, it’s going to be big, I fear.” Makarov added.

“If it is at the scale you two have been hinting at, it’s going to be immense. And we’re not ready.” Porlyusica said with alarm.

“It’s even worse. No-one is ready.” Makarov cleared. “I don’t know if we could withstand it, not even with all the guilds united.”

“The information I got isn’t good news for us. But I think your mage might be in danger.”

“Lucy?” Was Makarov’s question.

“That one, yes, it’s just that I heard that the roots of darkness have spread out deeply into the Celestial Council. If she’s there to do what we all think she’s doing, she might be putting herself at great risk.”

Makarov let out a deep exhale. He took hold of his teacup and drank everything in one go.

“She’s a tough kid. I think she has the wits to stay in the game.”

“And let’s hope that those stubborn boys also stop fighting each other.” Porlyusica added.

“Natsu and Gray? That… is going to be harder.” The Master admitted with a twitch of his moustache. “They kind of made a sport of fighting each other…”

“In that case, they need to stop that. Their survival is at stake.” Porlyusica said sternly.

“Do you mean their lives!?” Bob exclaimed.

“Yes. They need to cooperate.”

“The situation is dire, then.” Makarov said with a frown.

“Very dire indeed.” Porlyusica acquiesced.

The three mages sat in tense silence.

* * *

As soon as Lucy reached Aquarius she noticed the air of tenseness her spirit seemed to be containing, limbs tense and ready to spring into action, murderous vibes being turned towards the other pair.

Only then was Lucy able to see her opponent’s new spirit.

It was… a girl.

She looked small. Barely reaching Merope’s shoulder – and Merope was about Lucy’s height.

The other spirit had a pale skin colour, which was further enhanced by the contrast of her dark dress and dark long hair. She had straight black hair that fell down her back and reached her knees. Though she had a stripe of white hair that fell over her right eye.

Her dress seemed pretty plain, short sleeved, the skirt ending mid-calf but with what appeared to be tears in the fabric, a gossamer fabric rested above the skirt and gave it a slight shimmer. The waist was cinched by what looked like ropes and above her sternum was looked like a black pearl was resting.

Deep dark eyes turned toward Lucy, inscrutable-looking, appearing to read the blonde mage down to the core.

“Aquarius, do you know her?” Lucy asked, turning to her spirit, taking in the appraising expression on her face.

“I know _of_ her.” Was the curt answer.

“And…?” Lucy insisted, even though she knew she was threading on thin ice.

“She’s trouble.” Aquarius said in a dismissive tone, hand running through her hair distractedly. “Big trouble, probably, but also interesting.”

“What do you mea-?” Lucy started saying but a hand pushed against her shoulder making her stumble back and fall on the sand.

“Hey!” Lucy yelled at the same time that what looked like black ribbons – they were three – cut through the air, right at the spot she’d been standing.

“Beginning of the third match. Aquarius versus Nǚ.” The voice said, permeating the whole space of the beach.

“It’s on!” Aquarius said as she dove into the deeper waters, splashing Lucy. She sounded excited.

“Great…” Lucy groused as she took a deep breath and stood, doing her best to ignore her wet clothes.

She needed to catch up with her adversary.

Merope seemed to have had the same idea, as she was pelting towards Lucy. Her weapon menacingly pointing Lucy’s way. She feinted going to her left but ended up going right, weapon twirling on her hands.

The wooden handle of Lucy’s whip clashed against the wooden central part of the other’s staff, both mages locked in position together.

Suddenly a wave crashed upon them, the sand underfoot eroding away while the mages fell into the water with a big splash.

Lucy instinctively tried to breathe as she and Merope were a mess of entwined limbs that were rolling amid the foamy water of the crashing waves.

Somehow they managed to disentangle themselves from the other, crawling up the shoreline to where the sand was dry. Momentarily not caring about the trial – they had more important things to do, such as hacking away the salt water from their lungs.

* * *

Aquarius looked suspiciously at her opponent. She seemed to simply be standing on the beach, walking on the shallow water, right after the place where the waves crested.

Despite the relaxed stance, Aquarius could tell that she was studying her.

No… what she had heard about this Nǚ wasn’t good news to her.

The girl was dang

erous.

With her urn materializing in her hands, she gripped the handles tightly, their feel being enough to steady her.

Lifting the urn she called upon her water magic, directing it straight at Nǚ.

Large waves of water rushed towards the unassuming girl – only to disappear into thin air.

“Huh?” Aquarius froze. “What the-?”

“Let’s be good, yes?” The other said in a gentle voice. She placed her hand to her waist and threads started to loose down, black ribbons following her hand as she lifted it. With a sharp movement of the hand she pointed towards Aquarius and the ribbons shot up towards the latter. The blue-haired spirit dove to the side, making a circular motion with her urn – a quick counter-attack which got a wall of water that moved against Nǚ.

The girl wasn’t phased.

She threw a black pearl into the air and it made the water disappear.

She seemed to be pouting, Aquarius noted.

The blue-haired spirit took a quick glance to the side, to check on Lucy. Her owner seemed to be struggling with her opponent’s attacks but she was hanging on.

‘She better…’ Thought Aquarius, ‘or I’ll punish her when we go back.’

But, she had to focus back on her situation.

The pout on the other’s face had become a faint smile.

Threads hissed behind Aquarius, a dark light seemingly connecting them to the fluctuating pearl.

The white stripe of Nǚ’s hair had become tinged with red.

‘This is it.’ Aquarius realized. The other was going for the kill.

Aquarius jumped into the water, diving into the deepest part while narrowly escaping the ribbons that were spearing into the water.

One caught her in the arm, a long gash that nearly cut her armlet, the other was on the other side, on her tail.

Clenching her teeth in fury, she started heading up.

Water whirled around her, allowing her to rise faster.

She broke the surface of the water, grabbing one of the urn’s handles, pushing her arm back and throwing the urn towards Nǚ.

Water was everywhere, the urn rotating upon itself and speeding towards Nǚ. None of the threads the other put on the way made any difference in decreasing the speed.

There was nearly no visibility but, as ribbons curled around Aquarius and started squeezing, a loud _wooshing_ noise emerged, the threads’ strength weakening and slipping from Aquarius’ form altogether.

It was followed by a shrill noise.

“Only one power element allowed per trial.” The disembodied voice suddenly cut in.

All the water splashed down, submerging the mages on the shore once again. Though now the amount of water was way bigger.

Surprised yells followed.

Aquarius smiled wickedly.

* * *

Lucy coughed and gasped, trying once more to dislodge the water from her lungs. The wave of water had been unexpected. She had been so focused in countering Merope’s attack that when the water crashed upon them she was completely taken by surprise. Losing her footing and being dragged towards the sand hadn’t been expected either. Running a hand through her sodden hair, she took her bangs away from the front of her eyes. Which was followed by a frantic glance around her.

“End of the third match. Victory for Lucy and Aquarius.” The voice said.

Lucy let out a relieved sigh, letting her head fall a little.

She was almost there…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Glossary:  
> Wěi – Tail  
> Niú – Ox  
> Nǚ – Girl  
> Bì – Net  
> Shēn – Three Stars  
> Guǐ – Ogre/Demon, Ghost


	37. Hard Task - Part II

Lucy didn’t have much time to gather herself as her surrounding area started spinning once again, a sudden feeling of vertigo crashing over Lucy before the blonde mage realized that it had stopped.

‘Okay, that now was different...’ she mused, taking a look around.

One thing was for sure. The new stage for her challenge was in the middle of a forest. And across from Lucy, a river ran, vigorously. Shades from the trees from the other side not being enough to dim the light’s reflection on the small waves.

Lucy looked around, in search of Merope but she couldn’t see her.

There was a loud crackling noise and Lucy looked to her side, readying her whip.

Thankfully it was only Sagittarius who looked solemnly at her, head falling in a short nod before glancing towards the river’s shore. Her foes seemed to be ready for her.

‘Well, so am I!’ Lucy thought, taking a deep breath.

“Fourth match. Sagittarius versus Bì. You may begin.” The voice said, words falling heavily among the noise of the water and the rustle of the leaves in the surrounding trees.

“Interesting…” Lucy heard Sagittarius say. She turned to him.

“What do you mean?”

“That they would send a fisherman to battle me.” Was the strange answer.

And, upon a closer look, Lucy realized the truth in the words of her spirit.

Beside Merope stood what looked like a tall, muscled man.

His torso was bare, what allowed the muscled and toned golden skin to be in full display for he was only wearing shorts which were bunched up at the edge, frayed fabric. A leather belt cinched the waist and allowed for a number of weapons and trinkets to hang off it.

A blank expression settled on his unshaven face, and he ran a hand distractedly through his shaggy dark hair as a few words were exchanged with Merope.

On his left hand he was holding a fishnet.

‘What the hell?’ Lucy wondered. She and her spirit were walking toward where their opponents were. Apparently going unnoticed by them.

A sudden feeling – or reflex, she didn’t have enough time to choose – made her grab Sagittarius’ arm and pull to the side.

They fell on the ground, haphazardly.

Lucy let out a grunt at the impact.

She noticed that there had just been a strange glow. White light.

Laughter echoed on the clearing.

“Let’s see how you get over this now.” She could hear Merope say.

Lucy let out a huff as she stood. On her side Sagittarius was ready, his bow already in hand and with some arrows clenched on the other hand.

“Let’s do this. You can do it.” She nodded at Sagittarius.

Her spirit was back to his gave face.

In the blink of an eye, three arrows were placed in position and shot.

The white light appeared again, apparently coming from the thing the other spirit was holding, the net.

A handful of nets, smaller ones, shot from behind them, protecting Bì and Merope and easily neutralizing the arrows.

It was only then that Lucy noticed that trapped among the glowing wires there were fish, trying to get free and water droplets that glowed in the light.

The arrows were no match some falling flat on the ground while others got caught in the net.

After a moment, the arrows that had been on the net disappeared.

‘Damn! What the hell was that!’ Lucy yelled to herself. ‘Okay, I have a _really_ bad feeling about this…’

“Please, take cover.” Sagittarius said suddenly. Lucy looked at him, confused.

Then she looked at Bì, saw the odd aura surrounding him, the nets spreading outwards, some plunging into the water while other rose up towards the sky.

It was impressive. And menacing.

Sagittarius stepped forward, protecting Lucy. Seriousness emanating off him.

A blinding flash of light and Sagittarius was shooting a barrage of arrows, in every direction – unfortunately with no lasting effect as the arrows were disappearing as soon as they touched the nets.

“My turn now.” The other celestial spirit said.

There was a sharp _snap_ -like noise and a sharp breeze rose, making Lucy raise her arm to protect her eyes.

‘What the hell is this?’ She wondered, her hand curling on the whip handle more tightly.

Before her she could see Sagittarius frantically shooting arrows in every direction, though she couldn’t exactly see if they were having any effect.

Suddenly Lucy was being pushed back, it was so unexpected that she stumbled and fell down on her ass. Scraping her hands as she instinctively braced herself in them, to stay the fall a bit.

When she looked up, Sagittarius was completely covered by the net, it was its black colour at first but was slowly lighting up as it roused into the air.

Sagittarius was struggling inside it but it was all for naught as his arms were immobilized – and tightly – against his torso.

“Sagittarius!” Lucy yelled, as she got up and started running towards her spirit.

The light started shining brighter.

“End of the fourth match. Victory for Merope and Bì.” The voice suddenly cut in.

It was with relief that Lucy saw her surroundings spin.

When things stopped she was standing on a narrow strip of land, both sides being steep cliffs.

It did give her a mild sense of vertigo momentarily.

‘This just keeps getting weirder…’ she thought while stifling a nervous giggle. She could see that Merope, standing at quite some distance apart from her, also seemed to share the sense of unease.

Venturing a glance to her right side, Lucy saw that the cliff wall, full of sharp and pointy rocks stood above the sea. Large waves crashing upon the near-black rocks, the white foam spreading back and mixing with the foam of previous waves. The roughness of the sea under added to the unease as a sharp wind, cold and cutting in its saturated saltiness, raised.

“We’re up to no good, hm, boss?” The gravelly voice of Draco sounded from her left.

“You can bet on that.” She answered in a low voice. “Do you think we can take them?” She looked towards Merope and the three flying _girls_ – they looked like it but it was impossible!

The purple dragon looked at Lucy, seeming to be assessing her, contemplative.

“What?” Was her slightly raspy question.

“Nothing…” was the simple answer.

It didn’t convince Lucy.

She threw a glare at Draco. Blinking her eyes a couple of times she took in her spirit a little better. There was an air… a difference in him.

The scar that ran over his left eye had turned green and so did the tip of his long tail.

The cigar in his mouth was lit, as the greyish cloud of smoke attested to it.

These changes were slightly more noticeable but there was something the celestial mage couldn’t quite put her finger on.

“What are you looking at?” Draco grumbled as he felt himself being observed.

“Nothing.” Lucy shook her head. “Let’s do this.” She took a few steps approaching the centre.

“Fifth match. Draco Bom versus Shēn.” The announcing voice said, the words suspended around them for a few instants before being swiped by the wind. “Begin.”

The wind stopped suddenly.

The standstill only being broken by the loud noises of the sea coming from downwards.

“This is going to be a fight in the air!” Draco said before flying upwards, putting some distance from the mages.

Lucy saw him go. And then she focused her attention on his opponents.

Three _girls_ clad in white dresses that reached their knees. The top seemed to have an imprint of a large triangle that contained four smaller triangles within, varying hues of green painted in each triangle. They also had headbands, a shiny white large triangle, the same pattern as in the shirts, placed at their fronts.

An unsettling feeling made Lucy’s gut constrict in anxiousness.

The three girls moved at the same time, the same movements.

Perfect synchronicity.

‘This is not good,’ she thought to herself before being startled by a crunching noise. Ut was Merope.

Lucy instantly went into a fighting stance. But the other surprised her by not moving her weapon. She glanced at Lucy.

“I propose a small truce. Let our spirits do the fighting, what do you think?”

Lucy was slightly dumbfounded.

“Huh…” she started saying, intelligently. “Sure.” She ended lamely.

“Good.” Merope nodded and turned, looking into the sky.

Despite feeling suspicious, Lucy followed her lead.

Up in the air, things were heated.

* * *

With his tail twitching slightly, the only signal outwards that showed that he was feeling _something_ , Draco was looking at the three _sisters_ that stood in front of him. The smiles and empty eyes were unsettling but Draco… Draco had seen a lot of things… he still had an important part to play so he had to hurry, get done with this small hiccup to return to what mattered.

A twitch of his cigar was the only tell before he’d launched himself at the other spirits.

As expected they split up, each one flying to a different direction quite quickly. Annoying giggles sounded.

“C’mon, we haven’t got all day.” Draco grumbled as he felt the warmth rising, the pressure within demanding release. His mouth opened wide and a column of fire came forth, a wide arch.

Shēn came together behind Draco. As he turned to them, a green leaf got stuck in his snout.

He grumbled in distaste.

“You should go first, Alnitak.” One of the girls said suddenly.

“What! No. Let Mintaka go first.” Said another, waving her hands around.

“No, Alnilam has the best entrance.” The last girl said with finality.

They stood like that for a while, bickering and not paying one bit of attention to Draco.

The dragon felt his eyebrow twitch in annoyance.

‘I can’t believe it. Is it my fate to be facing hare-brained girls or what?!’ he disparaged mentally.

“Hey, ladies.” He said out loud. “Do you think that this is the right time and place to be doing that?” He asked sarcastically.

“Oh!” Three voices said at the same time. “He’s right!” They added.

Shēn turned around to look at him, serious faces on.

“Let’s do this!” They yelled as wind started blowing.

‘They move too fast!’ Draco thought, looking around, flying to the side as fast as his frantically beating wings allowed him to.

“Oh, so you don’t want to play?” A voice said from his right. One of the entities was keeping up with him at a leisurely pace.

Draco started braking. He collided with another of his foes. She laughed and grabbed him.

“But he’s just sooo cute!” She said in a cutesy voice.

“Let me go! I’m not cute!” He yelled, offended. His tail slapped her hand, making her startle and let go with a surprised noise.

“Hey, that’s not fair.” Was the outraged grumble.

“I’ll give you fair…” Draco mumbled, his cigar twitching slowly. He took a deep breath and let out a big ball of fire followed by a column of fire, a large ring of flames surrounding him.

Having a small respite, apparently.

“Alnilam, I don’t like the fire.”

“Neither do I.”

“Let’s put it down.” The last one said.

Draco didn’t like the sound of it. Not one bit.

Wind started howling, taking away little wisps from the ring of fire. Flashes of white appeared on the corner of his eye here and there.

Seeing as one of the girls was standing right in front of him, Draco started flying to her, the burning he felt on the inside brimming to get outside.

However, as he rushed there he was hit. First on his left then his right. Laugher following each hit.

Then, the girl he’d been heading towards disappeared as he was being pushed from all his sides, in a dizzying whirlwind.

He found himself fighting, before long, on instinct.

Flames erupted into the air, his tail slapped and tangled with limbs and then… it stopped.

Draco turned, saw himself standing at the centre of the triangle the three individualities of Shēn made.

‘Huh oh…’ he thought, his cigar twitching anxiously in his mouth. ‘Should I…?’

He prepared himself.

But blinding light consumed the world.

* * *

“No!” Lucy yelled, attempting to reach the falling form of her spirit.

“End of the fifth match. Victory for Merope and Shēn.”

Lucy was barely listening, intent in trying to somehow reach Draco before he fell to the water.

Her foot slipped and rocks scrapped at her legs, tearing more at the by now ripped skirt of her dress.

She tried to grab something but she only ended slicing her hands up further.

And then she was suddenly propelled forward.

There was only a void.

Lucy didn’t so much as have the chance to scream.

Darkness spun before her eyes.

And then, strong arms were catching her, making what little air that remained in her lungs come out in a gasp.

She opened her eyes and saw… Loke.

“Wha-“ she started saying in a thin voice before coughing and gasping. She felt Loke lower her, help her up and steadying her. “Oh, I’m glad you’re here.” She finally said.

“Your wish is my command, Lucy.” The spirit bowed, taking her hand to brush his lips against the back. He paused, making a face at the state of her hand. He took a closer look at the dishevelled state Lucy was in, mouth twisting.

“Sixth match. Leo versus Guǐ. You may begin.”

The words sounded with an odd finality, Lucy noticed.

‘Doesn’t matter. I have to win.’ She braced herself, steeling her resolve.

“Let’s finish them.” She held Loke’s hand firmly, tightening her grip momentarily.

“Let’s.” Loke smiled sharply, his pointy teeth peeking out.

They let go of the grasp, a strange blanket of calmness falling upon then.

Silently they headed to what looked like the centre of the place they were at. A fountain, blanched and cracked stone, stood there.

Dry.

Large slabs of light grey stone were comprising the ground, underfoot, green weeds peeking from the ever-growing interstices.

A good layer of dust covered just about everything.

To the fountain, two streets converged. The façades of the houses and buildings still upright – even if not all that steady and secure-looking – and vegetation and trees gave some colour to the mostly bleached-white and dusty sight of the stones.

The sound of steps and, sure enough, Merope was walking to the fountain. A tall man walking beside her.

It was a figure that was clad in what looked like a bespoke suit, black with subtle red stripes, red tie, he had a trimmed moustache and his black hair was slicked back. Flinty eyes stared dispassionately at them.

Against his left thigh a sword was resting.

Merope seemed oddly relaxed, a tiny smirk on her lips. Her hands were holding her weapon before her, steadily even though she seemed slightly jittery, anticipating.

Without any sign or word, the ball connected to the bottom end of Merope’s main weapon was flying towards Lucy.

Before Lucy could move so much as a muscle, Loke was standing before her, effortlessly making the ball fall to the side.

“So, it’s like this?” Loke asked, tone bored.

“Your fight’s with me.” Guǐ said suddenly, sword falling in a downwards arch.

Both Loke and Lucy jumped out of the way, debris erupting into the air.

Lucy glared at Guǐ then at Merope, catching by the corner of her eye, Loke poised in a familiar stance.

His lips moved but his voice was so low that she couldn’t catch anything.

Still, he could only be saying his incantation.

Bright light made Lucy turn her head, covering her eyes, and there was a hollow _thud_ before the sudden brilliance dimmed and Lucy was standing alone with Merope.

Large scrapes cut the stone on the ground.

Though Lucy didn’t have long for her contemplation, metal came zinging through the air, right at her head.

Lucy pivoted on her left foot, left hand coming to slide over Merope’s weapon.

The two mages paused, a momentarily balance reached.

Their strengths were matched.

At least for the moment.

“Don’t you think…” Merope scoffed, free hand reaching the top of the weapon, a handle, and a sword came off it.

Lucy cursed.

The balance between them was broken.

Lucy didn’t stand without reaction, though, her right hand moved, wrist making a quick motion, the whip snapping and curling around Merope’s right wrist.

She immobilized her momentarily.

Though that didn’t seem to bother Merope as the celestial mage grinned and moved the esfingador. Lucy only felt a large force crashing against her stomach, taking her breath away. Instinctively she unlatched the whip from the other’s forearm.

Lucy fell, most likely leaving some gaping overtures on her defence – though she was kind of beyond thinking about that.  But she had to catch her breath back.

Frenzied steps sounded, and echoed, on the small plaza before the first building crumbled.

It was a deafening sound, raised thick clouds of dark dust. From inside it flashes of white and red were noticeable.

“After everything I was still expecting more.” The silky voice cut in right beside Lucy’s ear, the frisson of warning running down her spine before cold metal caressed Lucy’s cheek.

“Don’t worry…” Lucy suddenly ground out. “I can give you more.” She said before throwing her head back, knocking against the other’s face. Her left hand shot out to grab the handle of the sword, sharply taking it from Merope’s hand.

And then Lucy felt two hands curl around her waist, lift her and take her away.

She looked up at Loke.

The spirit was slightly mussed-looking, scratches on his face and a general air of dishevelment.

“You didn’t expect me now, did you?” He asked with slight amusement in his voice.

“You surprised me.” Lucy replied in a breaking voice, still composing herself.

“And what do you have there?” Loke finally asked as he helped Lucy to the ground. They were hidden behind high bushes and large trees as well as by a bricked wall, the reddish colour faded to near white.

“This?” Lucy let out an aborted laugh as she held the sword up. “I just thought that it was only fair if both of us had these sharp and pointy things.” She smiled pleasantly. “My whip, only, left me at too bit a disadvantage.”

“That’s right…” Loke smile approvingly at Lucy. “But I think that now we should stick together, maybe?”

“How was Guǐ? I didn’t have much chance to pay attention, well, you two disappeared too…” She spoke while tilting her head to the side as she distractedly stored her whip in such a way that was ready to be quickly picked and used.

“He was… unusual.” Loke replied frankly. “He uses that sword together with a strange energy. It’s magic but with a sickly oddness to it.”

“That can’t be good.” Lucy muttered. “Do you have any idea to counteract that? Him?”

“I might.” Loke shrugged. “Still need to confirm a few things first but, yeah. I can take care of that guy.”

“Okay. I’ll try to hold her, to give you time.” Lucy concluded, her hands resting on her hips.

“Do you think you…?” Loke started saying, concerned.

“Yes. Now, you go and kick his ass.” Lucy made a shooing motion with her hands at him and then winked, confident.

“I will.” Loke promised.

* * *

Sooner or later they had to return to the line of fire. They didn’t take long to notice the other two as they seemed to be returning to the arena at the same time as he and Lucy.

His master didn’t seem to be too affected by whatever had gotten her before. The small chance to regroup and take a breath had helped her.

A sword wasn’t exactly her weapon of choice but Loke knew that she could handle herself. Even if her opponent was quite strong, it was never good to underestimate a foe. However, Loke had a mission – and it was going to be quite a tricky one.

That guy, Guǐ, set his teeth on edge. The magic he used was strange and when added to the sword, it tripled its harm.

On the other hand, Loke just needed to confirm one thing and then, hopefully, he had the right attack to finish the fight off with just one hit.

The spirit disappearing from the immediate space of the arena counted as a win, right?

Loke ran, right into the other’s face, seeing slight surprise in the other’s eyes. A shot of gooey-looking magic passed right by his left ear.

‘That was close.’ Loke thought as he stopped the falling blade with his bare hands.

They stood frozen in that position, measuring each other, still. This opponent was so tricky that so far into the fight they still hadn’t completely grasped each other’s forces.

Then the sticky red magic started oozing down the blade, making Loke’s hands slip.

His current position wasn’t sustainable for much longer.

With a push to his left side, Loke jumped to his right, spinning on his toes, his leg rising to kick Guǐ right in the gut.

The other spirit let out a gasp, being projected against a tree right behind.

‘Gotcha!’ Thought Loke.

Still, Guǐ was quick to gather himself and so he plunged the tip of the sword on the stone floor, a rift of energy shooting towards Loke at insane speed.

Loke ran.

Maybe closer to the crackling burst of energy than was advised but he approached Guǐ in a flash.

Light was already coursing through him, the warm feeling leaving a pleasant tingle down his arm. Light fathered in his palm which he then closed, making a fist.

He punched the other spirit with all he got, right in the solar plexus.

Guǐ was blasted away, a large trail of destruction in his wake.

“We won.” Loke said to himself, a fact. He turned to Lucy, waiting for the confirmation too.

But what he saw made him freeze.

Then he saw red.

* * *

“End of the sixth match. Victory for Lucy and Leo.” The voice said, although the misty surroundings at the edges were getting slightly more clear. “The end result is: a draw between the participants.”

Lucy let out a huge sigh of relief. She wasn’t too sure about the meaning and implications of a draw. After all, would she be able to continue ahead? Or was she going to be stopped despite proving herself, according to the rules?

A cacophony of thoughts was running though her mind. Both she and Merope had let go of their weapons, adrenaline still coursing highly through them.

Lucy looked at Loke but he was staring at Lucy with a scary-serious look.

‘Odd.’ She thought but then was distracted by a hand touching her arm.

She turned to see Merope standing back, extending a hand.

The last setting of the trial dissolved behind them, leaving them back at the starting point.

“No matter the outcome, it was a pleasure going through this trial with you. You’ve proven resourceful and honest. A good opponent.”

Lucy extended her hand too, they shook them slowly.

“It has also been a pleasure. Hopefully we’ll meet again, though under a more auspicious situation.” She glanced at Merope’s clothes. “Sorry about the clothes. And your leg. And arm…” She grimaced a little

“Likewise. Sorry about your back. And your leg too.” Was the contrite reply.

“Ah. Don’t mention it.” Lucy waved a hand at her, showing that she didn’t have to worry, the fire in her back finally making itself known to her body. To a screaming effect.

Suddenly dizziness hit her and Lucy felt herself fall.

Into the darkness.

* * *

Lucy woke slowly, groggily, into what seemed to be a bright room.

The first thing she saw was the white ceiling which contained a number of intricate forms that created different images through a complex game of shadows and light.

The whiteness was too much for her, though. It was too bright for her eyes and there was light coming from somewhere, even if it wasn’t directed at her.

She waited, letting herself get used to the brightness. By doing that she also started assessing her surroundings.

It didn’t take long for her to conclude that she was in the infirmary ward, decidedly.

And it was after the trial.

She grimaced.

Hurt permeated her body. Every little bit, muscle and bone, even what during the trial looked like just a minor scratch now seemed to be making a point of being noticed.

Though the worst were the wounds that positively screamed at her.

A tiny noise of pain escaped her lips but it went unheard in the heavy silence that shrouded the room.

As awareness got a tighter grasp on her, her other senses seemed to kick in, to became sharper.

Slowly, fragments of a conversation started reaching her.

“… not good. The report said that someone from Blue Pegasus was the one who caused it.” One voice said.

“It goes against our plans that they’re close to finding us already.” Another voice replied sternly.

“They’re only supposed to take notice much later.” The first voice continued, agitatedly. “When we are ready.”

“I wonder if someone from that guild is aware – I mean, they ruined our plan so maybe we were discovered.”

“And how about we don’t discuss such important matter in a place where everyone can overhear?” A third voice suddenly cut in.

“Ah! Sorry.”

“Sorry.”

Both voices sounded properly chastised.

Footsteps ensued and then only silence remained.

Lucy blinked owlishly, trying to order her thoughts and make sense of what she had just heard.

‘I wonder if the person from Blue Pegasus they were talking about was the one I saw before…’ she wondered. ‘What the hell were they talking about, though?’

The thought crossed her mind but at that moment she felt a wave of pain go through her and so she welcomed the dark arms of oblivion with relief.

 

End of the First Arc

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Glossary:  
> Wěi – Tail  
> Niú – Ox  
> Nǚ – Girl  
> Bì – Net  
> Shēn – Three Stars  
> Guǐ – Ogre/Demon, Ghost
> 
> **A/N:** Whoa, finally, the end of the first part of this fic! Can you believe it, reader?  
>  I doubt that anyone’s still following this story from the beginning but, heh, to whoever read this far, thanks for coming with me on this ride. There’s a lot of stuff happening but I’m just super happy for managing to get here. Despite the terrible fight scenes, many apologies for that…  
> Anyway, I have a serious question to pose to the readers. I mean, is there interest in continuing reading this fic? I’m just saying this because I don’t have any notion if people are still interested, I don’t have feedback (though there are some exceptions) so I’m a bit in the dark…  
> So… thoughts?  
> Thanks for reading this far. This chapter was unbetaed, as per usual.  
> Feedback would be awesome.

**Author's Note:**

> Reviews are highly appreciated. ^^


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